Italian open access operator NTV carried almost 6.2 million passengers in 2013 – more than triple the number of people using the service in 2012.
NTV – the first private operator to run trains on Italy’s high-speed rail network – has seen passenger numbers increase significantly since the launch of the first service between Milan and Naples in April 2012.
The operator’s fleet of 25 very high-speed Alstom AGV trains operated 17,380 services throughout the year, attaining a punctuality rate of 94 per cent.
NTV’s strong yearly results are partly thanks to a series of Christmas travel initiatives, including free travel for children, of which 122,000 passengers took advantage.
Italo More, the operators loyalty programme, also experienced an increase in patronage, reaching 365,835 in 2013.
Photo courtesy of .Italo Treno – NTV S.p.A. CC BY 2.0
This reinforces the fact that if you provide fast, frequent, efficient, comfortable, modern rail services, people will gladly ride them. Republicans in the USA, are you listening?