In summer 2011, the company will gamble on railways - up to now a monopoly sector. The liberalisation of rail transport will be effective from 1 January 2010. Alstom will provide 25 11-car sets of its AGV-type (high-speed railcar).

Mr. Montezemolo, Diego Della Valle - the inventor of Tod's shoes - and Gianni Punzo, a contractor are already in the rail sector, jointly holding 54.50% of the shares of NTV. They are counting on the contribution of the Intesa-Sanpaolo bank (21.40% stake) and Generali Insurance (16.10%).

The company wants to offer a quality service on the 1,250 kilometre "Alta velocità", the Italian high-speed network in which the State has invested 40 billion euros. This network should be completed by 2013 and grow along the Italian Peninsula, from Milan to Naples and, transversely from Turin to Venice. On Tuesday, July 15, Mr. Montezemolo stressed the importance for the country of the birth of an entirely Italian company, "without any public euros, that places competition at the centre of its activities. There will be competition and users will be free to choose."

COMPETE WITH THE AIRLINES

On board, all passengers can access the latest technologies and NTV ensure that "travelling time is not lost time." It is true that at a speed, which in Italy, will be 300 km per hour, the train will enter into direct competition with aircraft. On the Milan-Rome route - without stopping - three trains will make the trip daily in three hours. To Naples will add just 1 hour and 10 minutes.

In total, NTV plans 54 trains per day. By 2015, the company is counting on taking a 20% share of this market, carrying 30,000 people per day, 10 million per year. The investment is €900 millions, €650 millions of which are for the purchase of trains and maintenance to be provided by the manufacturer. On the jobs side, a thousand people will work directly for NTV, which aims to achieve profitability by 2013.