Developed by Alstom Ferroviaria, which inherited tilting technology (including that of the British Advanced Passenger Train) after its acquisition of former producer Fiat Ferroviaria, they are built at Alstom's Savigliano plants, in Piedmont, as well as in Sesto San Giovanni near Milan (which supplies the traction converters).

The innovative features concern the interior and exterior design, now closer to the customers’ brand strategy and an improved comfort and services for passengers.

Moreover, some important technical characteristics have been increased, such as the power of the traction unit and the level of redundancy of components and equipment, in order to improve reliability.

[2][3] The original intended schedule for the type's introduction was to coincide with the December 2007 timetable change, together with the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel; however, it was deferred and rescheduled for spring 2009, this date was also missed.

In January 2023, the SBB announced a SFr 120m ($US 131.2m) investment in an extensive refurbishment of the ETR 610 fleet to facilitate its continued operation for a further 15 years.

The program involves renewing and replacing various components and systems, repainting the vehicle bodies, and making minor accessibility improvements in compliance with Swiss federal disabilities legislation.

[15][16] On 11 September 2014, Polands's Railway Transport Office (UTK) announced that the ED250 had been certified for operation at up to 250 km/h (155 mph) in accordance with the relevant Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI).

[17] In the 2020/21 timetable, ED250 routinely operated at a scheduled speed of up to 200 km/h (124 mph) along selected stretches of the Warszawa - Gdynia and Central Rail Line routes.

During October 2004, it was announced that RENFE had placed an order for 30 high-speed trains, configured for medium distance routes and thus lacking tilting mechanisms.

During October 2015, NTV announced that it would be procuring an initial batch of twelve ETR 675 trainsets as part of its efforts to expand its fleet via a contract valued at €460m.

[27] On 3 October 2013, the first of NTV's Pendolinos was publicly presented at the Expo Ferroviaria exhibition in Milan; by this point, the type was undergoing certification trials ahead of operating regular revenue service.