From 20 to 23 October 2025, the FS Italiane Group hosted a delegation of engineers specialising in railway signalling systems from the Turkish railway company TCDD, who were visiting Italy as part of the TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument) programme, a technical assistance initiative funded by the European Commission and dedicated to advanced training.
The study visit, coordinated by FS International, focused on the design, installation, testing and commissioning of railway signalling systems, and saw the active involvement of RFI with an introductory address by the Chairwoman Paola Firmi and the Chief Executive Officer and General Director Aldo Isi, as well as the technical contributions from the Traffic and Timetable Department, the Technical Department and the Research and Development Department.
The presence of speakers from the Office for Railway and Maritime Investigations (DIGIFEMA) of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and from ANSFISA, the National Rail and Road and Motorway Infrastructure Safety Agency) was also significant, as they outlined the roles, experiences and regulatory frameworks of their respective bodies.
The programme, which featured stops in Rome, Florence and Bologna, included technical sessions and visits to laboratories, control centres and test facilities, with travel on the Frecciarossa 1000 high-speed train where the visit to the driver’s cab was particularly appreciated.
Highlights of the programme included visits to the Rome Portonaccio laboratory and RFI’s Bologna San Donato Test Circuit. Guests were able to observe the testing activities on the infrastructure and signalling systems, and enjoyed tours of the Florence Osmannoro and Rome ETCS laboratories, where the roles of the company’s NoBo, DeBo and AsBo were explored in depth, and where some of the tests carried out at the two sites were illustrated.
Last but not least, there was an evocative tour of the historic ACE building at Roma Termini, managed by the FS Foundation.
The visit, which took place at the end of a training programme, provided an important opportunity for technical exchange, demonstrating the FS Group’s leading role in promoting the highest standards of railway technology on an international level, and acting as a point of reference with a view to potentially supporting the Turkish railways in adopting European standards.