FS Class ETR 470

ETR 470 (ElettroTreno 470) is a high-speed tilting Electric Multiple Unit introduced in 1993 and produced in nine units for the ItaloSwiss firm Cisalpino. They were produced by Fiat Ferroviaria (now Alstom), and could tilt up to 8°.

ETR 470
ETR 470 in Trenitalia livery
Manufacturer	Fiat Ferroviaria (now Alstom) ,Schindler, Vevey Technologies.
Built at	Fiat Ferroviaria, Savigliano ( Cuneo )
Constructed	1993-1997
Entered service	1997
Refurbished	2008
Scrapped	2015 (CH)
Number built	9 + 1 prototype
Number in service	5 ( in Italy, for Frecciabianca premium domestic services )
Number preserved	1 (in Switzerland, for possible museum purposes). Leased to Trenitalia since March 31, 2017 for service on Milano - Gotthard - Zurich / Basel lines.
Number scrapped	3 ( in Switzerland )
Formation	3 first class coaches, 1 restaurant car, 5 second class coaches.
Capacity	475 passengers : 151 1st class, 322 2nd class, 2 for disabled persons + 29 in the restaurant coach.
Operator(s)	Cisalpino, SBB + Trenitalia
Line(s) served	Geneva - Brig - Simplon - Milano - Vernice; Basel - Bern - Brig - Simplon - Milano; Stuttgart - Zurich - Gotthard - Chiasso - Milano - Florence. Roma Termini - Napoli - Reggio Calabria.
Specifications
Train length	236.60 m (776.2 ft)
Car length	Head coaches 27,650 mm ; intermediate coaches 26,900 mm.
Maximum speed	200 km/h (124 mph)
Weight	798 t (785 long tons; 880 short tons) (normal load)
Power output	6,600 kW (8,900 hp) ( hourly ), 5880 kW ( continuous ).
Electric system(s)	3 kV DC & 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC Overhead catenary
Current collection method	Pantograph
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Part of the Pendolino family, it was an updated version of the ETR 460 adapted for services under lines electrified at 3 kV DC in Italy and at 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC in Switzerland and Germany. ETR 470 trains were used for fast services between Italy and Switzerland.

Nine sets of nine coaches each were built, together with a 3-car prototype ("Train 0") which has never been used for commercial service. Since the dissolution of Cisalpino they were split between SBB (4 sets) and Trenitalia (5 sets). SBB planned to retire its 4 sets in 2014 at the latest. They are to be replaced by Stadler EC250 trains by 2019, and with ICN and RABe 503 trains in the interim.

Because of its long series of breakdowns, ETR 470 was very poorly received in Switzerland. The maintenance costs were four times higher compared to the ICN.[1] The final decision to retire the trains was taken after one of them caught fire on 17 May 2009 in Ambri.[1] The spokesperson for the Swiss Association for Transport and Environment described them as "not worthy of the Swiss Federal Railways", while the chief executive of Swiss Federal Railways said he wanted to "put an end to this horror".[1] After unsuccessful attempts by SBB to sell the trains, three Swiss ETR 470 trainsets were scrapped in November 2015.[2]. ETR 470 009 owned by SBB has been leased to Trenitalia since March 31, 2017 after an Italian ETR 610 has been very seriously damaged in an accident (derailment) in Lucerne on March 22, 2017.

Italian ETR.470 were used for Frecciabianca high-speed services. It was decided in 2019, that these will be used on the Athens – Thessaloniki railway line run by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane subsidiary TrainOSE. Units will be converted for use in Greece, the existing 3 kV DC equipment is to be replaced with 25 kV 50 Hz equipment and they will be fitted with ETCS onboard equipment.[3]