FS Class ETR 450

ElettroTrenoRapido 450
Italian "Pendolino" ETR 450.
Family name	Pendolino
Constructed	1987 - 1992
Entered service	1988 - 2015
Scrapped	2007 -
Number in service	15 (2013)
Formation	9 cars
Capacity	390
Operator(s)	Trenitalia
Specifications
Maximum speed	280 km/h (174 mph) (design) 200 km/h (124 mph) (service)
Electric system(s)	3 kV DC Overhead catenary
Current collection method	Pantograph
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

ETR 450 (ElettroTrenoRapido 450) was the first series Italian tilting train (also called Pendolino).

The Pendolino project was started in the 1970s by FIAT Ferroviaria, but also absorbed technology from tilting train experiments from elsewhere, most notably the British Advanced Passenger Trains, FIAT having bought the patents. Development included a number of prototypes, the last of which was the ETR 401. This prototype was followed by the ETR 450 series units. The first train entered service on between Rome and Milan in 1988.

Every train is made up of 9 units. The trains can reach a maximum speed of 280 km/h (174 mph), service top speed was 250 km/h (155 mph). The ETR 450 were in use on the Rome-Bari, Rome-Ancona-Rimini and Genoa-Florence lines. It was relegated to lower services with the introduction of the next generation of Pendolino trains (ETR 460, ETR 480) and non-tilting high-speed trains (ETR 500).

In recent years, the tilting mechanism was deactivated as a precaution, and top speed was reduced to 200 km/h (124 mph).

From 2015, all trains are out of service.