Trenitalia parent FS Group is preparing to launch cross-border rail services between Italy and Germany, with services connecting Munich with Milan and Rome set to begin in 2027.
The initial cross-border offering will comprise four services across the Milan-Munich and Rome-Munich routes.
The Milan-Munich service will take around six and a half hours, calling at Brescia, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The Rome-Munich service will take around eight and a half hours, with stops in Florence, Bologna, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The Brenner Base Tunnel, which runs from Innsbruck, Austria, to Fortezza, Italy, and is expected to open in 2032, will reduce journey times by around one hour.
Additional services are expected from late 2028, with routes extending to Naples and Berlin, according to FS Group.
The services will be operated with Trenitalia’s high-speed Frecciarossa trains, in collaboration with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and Austria’s ÖBB. FS Group said the trains have been designed and built to operate across rail networks in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium, and comply with European Technical Specifications for Interoperability. Test runs are currently underway in Germany and Austria.
FS Group CEO and general manager Gianpiero Strisciuglio said: “The start of test runs in Germany and Austria is another step towards the implementation of a project that confirms our ambition to make rail the transport mode of choice for European mobility.
“Thanks to our collaboration with Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB, we are moving towards the creation of a high-speed ‘European Metro’, providing passengers with a service capable of bringing regions, people and economies closer together.”
The international expansion comes as FS Group accelerates its broader European rail ambitions. In January, the group agreed a partnership with investment firm Certares to develop international high-speed services, and last month the rail operator confirmed plans for a Paris-London Frecciarossa service from 2029.