Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori

NTV was created in 2006 by four Italian businessmen (among them Luca Cordero di Montezemolo) with the aim of creating a privately-owned high speed rail operator to compete with state-owned incumbent Trenitalia.[7] The company was launched with an initial investment of €967 million, €625 million of which was spent on rolling stock.[8] NTV’s shareholders took on a significant risk in their startup as Italy was the first country in the world to open its high speed rail market to competition.[9]

During early 2010, NTV stated its intention to start services in late 2011, following certification of its trains in mid-2011.[10] In March 2011, the company publicly complained that the Italian rail infrastructure manager, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), was obstructing its plans to run trains by making last-minute changes to network statements, as well as questioning the legality of its access charges. RFI is controlled by the same government group that controls Trenitalia, the incumbent provider of passenger train services in Italy.[11] Later that year, it was reported that the launch date had been delayed into 2012; this was reportedly due to the project's complexity.[12]

According to industry consultant Andrea Giuricin, NTV found it difficult to obtain technical approval and safety licences to operate its new fleet of Alstom-built Automotrice à grande vitesse (AGV) trains; Giuricin also acknowledged the establishment process as being quite complex in general.[9] Italy needed to refine its regulatory structures so that private rail operators could achieve a level playing field.[8] Disputes over access to both station facilities and train paths were symptomatic of NTV's early years.[8] In October 2013, the Italian Competition Authority determined that both Trenitalia and RFI had made deliberate efforts to exclude NTV. A suitable independent regulator of the Italian rail industry was not established until late 2013.[8]

Routes of NTV

On 28 April 2012, NTV conducted its first service, which it launched under the .italo brand.[13][14] This branding has been applied to other services provided by the company, such as its loyalty card.[8] In its first year of operation, NTV claimed its ridership to have been 2,051,702.[15]

According to rail periodical Railway Gazette, NTV was initially challenged to achieve a viable return on investment until passenger numbers increased.[9] Ridership increased in the following years, carrying 9.1 million passengers in 2015, having attained a load factor of 71.5%. By this point, NTV was operating 56 trains daily.[16] During 2015, NTV then-CEO Flavio Cattaneo launched a strategic turnround initiative, aimed at improving its operations.[9] In 2016, passenger numbers increased again, reaching 11 million.[5] To expand accessibility to its services, NTV has coordinated with bus operators to expand its catchment area to cover towns not directly served by high speed rail.[9]

That same year, NTV attained its fiscal break-even point for the first time, becoming profitable thereafter.[8] According to Giuricin, NTV quickly became a profitable venture largely due to an efficient and innovative approach to the market; such measures include a high utilisation rate of its rolling stock, typically high load factors for services, and customer engagement efforts. Partially in response to NTV's presence, incumbent operator Trenitalia has also made changes to increase competitiveness.[9] In August 2018, RFI was fined €620,000 for anti-competitive practices favouring Trenitalia over NTV.[17]

In January 2018, it was announced 35-40% of NTV's shares would be listed on the Borsa Italiana.[18] However, in February 2018, the planned initial public offering was cancelled; instead, NTV's shareholders accepted the take-over offer from Global Infrastructure Partners for 100% of the company, which was then valued at €1.94 billion.[19][20][21][22] Dealing April 2018, the sale was finalised; several of the existing shareholders chose to participate in a capital increase for a joint shareholding of 7.74%.[23] That same year, the company was renamed Italo-NTV, which integrated the .italo brand present on its rolling stock.[9]

NTV lounge at Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station

Italian ticket prices have fallen considerably since NTV's commencement of services in 2012; by 2019, the company had achieved a lower cost per available seat-km that most budget airlines, helping the company take market share from competing air routes.[9] Just as NTV's customer numbers grew rapidly in its initial five years, Italian demand for high speed rail travel in general has doubled in the same time period.[9] Specifically, rail operators' market share of the Rome – Milan route has increased from 36% in 2008 to an estimated 80% in 2018, while airline’s share has dropped from 50% to just 14% between the same dates.[8]

By the late 2010s, NTV was considering launching services outside of Italy; Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the company's chairman, has stated that possibly future markets for the firm include Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.[8] According to Giuricin, the future of such ambitions on the part of NTV and other private operators is dependent upon the establishment of an appropriate, stable, and clear regulatory environment, particularly in regards to track access charges.[8]