- Trenitalia has launched track test runs in Germany and Austria for Frecciarossa services
- Commercial services begin in summer 2027 with four daily connections
- Milan to Munich takes approximately 6.5 hours
- Rome to Munich takes around 8.5 hours
- Ten connections between Italy and Germany are planned by December 2028
Italy’s Frecciarossa high-speed trains have advanced plans for direct services linking Italy, Austria and Germany after testing began in those countries. Trenitalia has officially launched track test runs in Germany and Austria as part of the international approval process, developed in partnership with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and Austria’s ÖBB. Commercial passenger services are scheduled to begin in summer 2027, offering travelers a direct rail alternative to short-haul flights across central Europe.
The service will initially launch with four daily connections using the state-of-the-art Frecciarossa 1000 trains, designed to adapt to different national power grids and signalling technologies. The Milan to Munich route will take approximately 6.5 hours with intermediate stops including Brescia, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The Rome to Munich route will run for around 8.5 hours, stopping at Florence, Bologna, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. Once the Brenner Base Tunnel becomes fully operational, journey times between Munich and northern Italy are expected to drop by about another hour.
By December 2028, FS plans to expand the offering to ten total connections between Italy and Germany, with direct routes extending to Berlin and Naples. The complete network will include Milan-Berlin, Naples-Munich and Naples-Berlin lines, with passengers gaining streamlined access to major transit hubs like Frankfurt and Kraków. Following successful rollouts in France and Spain, the FS Group is also eyeing the English market with separate plans to launch a Paris-to-London high-speed service via the Channel Tunnel by 2029.
