TSR: The new Ansaldobreda's Regional Train

Source: Finmeccanica Magazine Transportation no.3

The Company's flexible and fast trains have made it a regional transportation leader. 

AnsaldoBreda’s main platform for the regional transportation segment is called the TSR. The Tuscan company also makes advanced trains such as the TAF and ETR (which is currently under construction for the Circumvesuviana railway). A new nonarticulated, distributed traction singlestorey regional train platform is currently being developed. Offered in two to six-coach configurations, the train will be capable of travelling at a maximum speed of 160 km/h. This is a train that Ansaldo Breda is likely to include in any forthcoming tenders for new regional trains called by Trenitalia. 

The TSR (the acronym stands for Treno Servizio Regionale, or Regional Service Train) has been designed specifically for high passenger routs. The train’s two floor configuration makes it ideal for optimizing the number of passengers carried, and is an ideal solution for reduced-length platform station. The Lombardy Region has ordered 78 trains of this type. A further three are on ordered by the Region of Tuscany. Flexibility is a key characteristic of the product. Trains can be anywhere between three and six carriages long, and work in multiple command mode for up to 12 trains at a time. Configurations are straightforward to modify at rail operator sidings. 

All carriages are powered, ensuring that the train offers top-end performance. Under all conditions, the train boasts the kind of acceleration and deceleration more usually found on a metro train (0.9 and 1.1 m/second respectively). The train’s top speed is 140 km/h. Carriage structures are constructed out of light alloy. Carriages feature particularly agreeable interiors, and facilitated access to the upper floor. Safety is guaranteed by the latest generation of SCMT train travel control system developed by Ansaldo STS, in concert with video surveillance, a firefighting system, and smoke detectors. End units, which house drivers’ cabins, can carry 187 sitting and standing passengers; middle carriages can carry 214 passengers each. 

AnsaldoBreda also manufactures another two-floor train, the TAF (Treno ad Alta Frequentazione, or High Passenger Traffic Train). A hundred of this trains – which offer similar characteristics – are in service with Trenitalia, and 27 with Le Nord. The main difference between the two is that the powered trucks on a four-unit TAF are located in the front units; the two middle carriages are towed. 

AnsaldoBreda used the TAF platform to develop the Z2M train for Moroccan Railways (ONCF). Twenty-four Z2M trains provide intercity service between Casablanca and Fez, and between Casablanca and Rabat. This modified version of the TAF can travel at higher speeds of up to 180 km/h. the train’s internal configuration has been adapted to the type of service provided, and includes a snack bar area. 

AnsaldoBreda’s commitment to the regional train industry continues with its design for the Metrostar electric train which the company developed for the Circumvesuviana railway, and adapted for the new Metro in Fortaleza, in Brasil. The 26 Circumvesuviana trains are equipped with drivers’ cabins at both ends. They can be coupled together in multiple command mode for up to three combined units, reaching a length of around 120 m, and offer overall passenger transport capacity of around 1,350. 

The chassis is built out of light alloy, using large-scale extrusions. This approach makes it possible to manufacture a structure that is completely impervious to corrosion, requires reduced maintenance, and offers a good compromise between durability and lightness. The wheel arrangement consists of three powered trucks and one load-bearing truck, all of which are on an articulated frame to ensure the utmost safety and stability on the move. 

This electric train benefits from very low environmental and acoustic impact because it is built with environmentally-friendly materials and adopts a regenerative braking system to reduce consumption. 

In partnership with Stadler of Switzerland, AnsaldoBreda recently won a tender to make a 32 electric and two diesel trains for Sistemi Territoriali, the Veneto Region and Fer per la Regione Emilia Romagna, in addition to a supply contact for 600 “Vivalto-type” two-storey carriages for Trenitalia. Ansaldo STS’s regional transport sector operations include the manufacture of SCMT on board systems and, of course, security and control technologies for railway lines and stations. 

In this sector, the company offers modern interlocking systems that it has installed around the globe. Two different flagship systems have been installed in Italy: the ACC system for Roma Termini, and the Merano Malles regional line control system, owned by the Province of Bolzano, which has helped to make the company an industry efficiency benchmark.