Italy: A three-car Stadler ETR.300 EMU began carrying passengers in late July on EAV’s Circumvesuviana network, a 950 mm gauge system electrified at 1.5 kV DC that circles Mount Vesuvius.
Before entering commercial service, the train completed a series of compliance tests overseen by ANSFISA, Italy’s national railway safety agency.
Three-car ETR.300 EMU from Stadler for EAV. Source: Gennaro e i mezzi di trasporto
Built with an aluminium carbody and measuring 40.9 m in length, the EMU has a maximum speed of 120 km/h and can carry 377 passengers, 90 of them seated. Gangways link the three cars, and the train is fitted with air conditioning, passenger information systems, CCTV, and multi-functional areas for wheelchairs, pushchairs and bicycles.
Inside the narrow-gauge three-car ETR.300 EMU from Stadler for EAV. Source: Gennaro e i mezzi di trasporto
Regional passenger operator EAV ordered 56 of the trains between 2021 and 2023, with an option to add a further 44 units. EAV vice-president Mario Casillo said 12 ETR.300s would be running by the end of the year, rising to 46 units during 2027. Stadler builds the trains at its plant in Valencia, Spain. The first unit reached Naples in September 2024, and dynamic testing on the network began in January.
