What’s sleek, red, and represents Italian engineering excellence? If you’re thinking about Ducati, then you’re not wrong. However, the answer still may not be exactly what you picture. See, in addition to being the home of Ducati, Italy is also the home of national train system Trenitalia—and very specifically, its high-speed Frecciarossa 1000 (or Red Arrow 1000, in English). In 2023, Ducati Corse and Trenitalia are renewing their partnership for another year—and of course, it involves the very fastest train in the fleet.
Just how high-speed is the Frecciarossa 1000? With a claimed top speed of 400 kilometers per hour, or about 248.5 miles per hour, it’s capable of traveling on all of Europe’s currently existing high-speed rail networks. The secret sauce: 16 engines, two on each of the eight coaches that make up this train.
On February 2, 2023, a special Frecciarossa 1000 train departed from platform one of the Roma Termini station, bearing a special Ducati Corse MotoGP livery featuring MotoGP 2022 world champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia. None other than the champion himself was on hand for the unveiling, along with the new Desmosedici. Additionally, Ducati Corse general manager Luigi Dall’Igna, FS Italiane Group CEO Luigi Ferraris, and Trenitalia CEO Luigi Corradi were all present at the official unveiling.
Gallery: Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 - Ducati - Bagnaia Train Livery 2023
This wasn’t just a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony, though. Once the train was unveiled at the platform, Pecco Bagnaia was invited aboard for a ride. Naturally, he was also given a tour of the driver’s cab—surely every child’s dream (and probably also the dream of at least a few adults). Later in the day, he also got to visit the operations room at Trenitalia’s Villa Patrizi headquarters and see how all the brains of Trenitalia function behind the scenes.
If you plan to visit Italy any time soon, of course, you may be able to book your own journey on the Ducati-liveried Frecciarossa 1000 and experience it for yourself. However, if you’re just curious about what the Frecciarossa 1000 train is like to ride, you can find numerous ride report videos and writeups online, from some that are a few years old to some that are very recent. The Frecciarossa 1000 experience is offered in four different ticket levels: Standard, Premium, Business, and Executive.
