Two railbuses of the FS Trenitalia type ALn663. ALn663 is a modified ALn668, which in turn is
a common railbus type produced by Fiat Ferroviaria and Breda 1956 to 1983. A total of 785 train units were built, out of which
Fiat built 725 and Breda 60. Its top speed was 130 km/h. These railbuses and their modified versions were used not
only in Italy, but also in Sweden, Turkey and what then was Yugoslavia. Swedish Y1 railbuses, which are modifications of
these have recently also been sold to Romania and several former Yugoslav countries. This ALn663 differs from the original
ALn668 only in its interiors and very slight details in its looks (for example the front is no longer curing to become the side panel).
This picture is from the station of the city of Aosta 29.12.2001. In those days these railbuses took care of the frequent
traffic between Torino and Aosta. Picture by Ilkka Siissalo.
A closer look at the double doors of the same ALn663 railbus.
Picture from Aosta 29.12.2001 by Ilkka Siissalo.
In 2003 the ALn663 railbuses had already been taken out of service between Aosta and Torino and only the short
and unimportant rail section "uphill from Aosta" remained for these railbuses to run.
Picture from Aosta 24.1.2003 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Two class ALn 668 railbuses forming a local train. The class ALn 668 is a design by Fiat Ferroviaria. They were built from 1956 to 1983
by Fiat (725 railbuses) and Breda (60 railbuses) in several series which have minor differences. This one is from a series numbered ALn668.1200
built by Fiat 1979-1980. Wikipedia: "The ALn 668 is considered the standard railcar of the FS. Class ALn 663 is quite similar, while
maintaining the same mechanics, received a different classification exclusively for the new interior design that reduced the number from
sixty-eight to sixty-three."
Picture from Padova Centrale (Padua central station) 10.7.2007 by Ilkka Siissalo.
After the ALn668 / ALn663 railbuses the next trains that started to run back and forth between Aosta and Torino
were these: Modern commuter train coaches with one or two diesel locomotives of the small type D.445. These locomotives were built by Fiat
1974 to 1988. It's a small diesel with a power output (max) of only 1436 kW and a top speed of 130 km/h. 150 machines were built. The machine
weighs 73 tons. This one, D.445.1082 was built in 1986.
Picture from Aosta 24.1.2003 by Ilkka Siissalo.
A closer look at the class 22-39 commuter train coaches that were used together with D.445 locomotives.
Picture from Aosta 24.1.2003 by Ilkka Siissalo.
Another D.445 locomotive. They were built in three series. This one is from the second series. There are some minor differences, see for example
the ventilation grilles by the sides or the lamps. The main difference between the first and second series was that 2nd series locomotives
could be remote controlled from a steering cab coach.
Picture from Padova Centrale 10.7.2007 by Ilkka Siissalo.
This three coach railbus is of the type Minuetto, classes ALn501-Ln220-ALn502. This
type was built for Trenitalia by Alstom 2003-2009 and Trenitalia got 104 of these trains. It is based on the technology of Alstom's
Coradia family of trains. The stylish design comes from the famous design studios of Giugiaria. There are two diesel engines built by
Iveco giving the train a top speed of 130 km/h and a modest power rating of 2x 560 kW. When this picture was taken, they were used for example
on the Trieste to Udine services paid by the province Friuli-Giulia-Venezia. Since 2004 Alstom has also built electric variants of the
Minuetto type.
Picture from Trieste main station 9.7.2007 by Ilkka Siissalo.
A closer look at the same Minuetto train as above.
Picture from Trieste main station 9.7.2007 by Ilkka Siissalo.
A diesel Minuetto train ALn 501 of FS Trenitalia in their newest painting livery, which Trenitalia calls "livrea DPR". This train was still photographed in Aosta
in May 2023, but these trains are rapidly being pushed out of the autonomous area of the Valle d'Aosta and are being replaced by new bimodal Stadler FLIRT trains
owned by the autonomous area. For pictures of these new trains of the Torino to Aosta route, see our category Italy > Valle d'Aosta bimodal trains.
Picture from near the station of Aosta 11.5.2023 by Ilkka Siissalo.
