Today in Rome the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Italian state railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) signed a EUR 300 million financing agreement, in the form of a bond subscription, to fund the acquisition of new rolling stock for use on regional lines. The bond will also carry the guarantee of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the centre piece of the so-called Juncker Plan to boost investment in Europe. This is the ninth operation under the Juncker Plan signed by the EIB Group in Italy since last spring.
This is a highly innovative operation in terms of both its financial structuring and the sector targeted (regional lines). Specifically, the EIB is subscribing a corporate bond issued by FS whose proceeds will be used to finance the acquisition of new trains (49 trainsets and 250 double-deck coaches) for regional services in Lazio, Tuscany, Veneto, Piedmont and Liguria. Passenger services operator Trenitalia’s total investment in the five regions is EUR 700 million.
“For years the EIB has been at Ferrovie dello Stato’s side in all its investment, and I am especially proud of today’s announcement as it shows that Europe can be close to its citizens in a concrete way, including in the implementation of the new provisions of the Juncker Plan, whose financial arm is the EIB”, said EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco.