New high-speed rail link to be up and running by 2026, in agreement with Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB.Italy is to launch a new high-speed rail link between Germany and Austria by next year, the state-owned Italian railway company Trenitalia announced on Wednesday.The move, part of a 'European Metro' high-speed rail network, follows an agreement between Trenitalia (FS Group), the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Austrian railway operator ÖBB. The new cross-border service connecting Rome and Milan to Munich will be activated by 2026 and will gradually be extended to Berlin and Naples from December 2028, the FS Group said in a statement. Gianpiero Strisciuglio, CEO and general manager of Trenitalia, said that connecting Italy with major European cities by train is "one of the strategic objectives" of the FS Group, with the goal of the Frecciarossa becoming "the train of Europeans and not only of Italians". The rail link between Italy, Austria and Germany has been selected by the European Commission as a pilot project amid a push to improve the international transport offer and respond to the growing demand for sustainable travel between European countries. The new service will start off with four connections linking Munich with Milan and Rome. On the Milan-Munich route, with a travel time of six and a half hours, the main stops along the way will be in Brescia, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The Rome-Munich route, with a travel time of eight and a half hours, will stop in Florence, Bologna, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The opening of the Brenner Base Tunnel, scheduled in 2032, will reduce travel times by about one hour, the FS Group said. From December 2028, the service will comprise 10 connections between Italy and Germany, covering the routes between Milan and Munich; Milan and Berlin; Rome and Munich; Naples and Munich; and Naples and Berlin. The new service will be operated with the Frecciarossa 1000, Trenitalia's high-speed train, which was designed to travel in Italy and on other railway networks in Europe, being able to overcome the differences in power supply and signalling in various countries. The new Frecciarossa connection to Germany and Austria will also allow travellers to connect to numerous other destinations by rail, including Frankfurt and Krakow. Last September Italy's transport minister Matteo Salvini inaugurated the new ÖBB Nightjet, a night train that connects Rome with Vienna in 16 hours, while earlier this year the FS Group announced plans to launch a high-speed rail service between London and Milan by 2029. Photo credit: bellena / Shutterstock.com.

Italy is to launch a new high-speed rail link between Germany and Austria by next year, the state-owned Italian railway company Trenitalia announced on Wednesday. The move, part of a 'European Metro' high-speed rail network, follows an agreement between Trenitalia (FS Group), the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Austrian railway operator ÖBB. The new cross-border service connecting Rome and Milan to Munich will be activated by 2026 and will gradually be extended to Berlin and Naples from December 2028, the FS Group said in . Gianpiero Strisciuglio, CEO and general manager of Trenitalia, said that connecting Italy with major European cities by train is "one of the strategic objectives" of the FS Group, with the goal of the Frecciarossa becoming "the train of Europeans and not only of Italians". The rail link between Italy, Austria and Germany has been selected by the European Commission as a pilot project amid a push to improve the international transport offer and respond to the growing demand for sustainable travel between European countries. The new service will start off with four connections linking Munich with Milan and Rome. On the Milan-Munich route, with a travel time of six and a half hours, the main stops along the way will be in Brescia, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The Rome-Munich route, with a travel time of eight and a half hours, will stop in Florence, Bologna, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The opening of the Brenner Base Tunnel, scheduled in 2032, will reduce travel times by about one hour, the FS Group said. From December 2028, the service will comprise 10 connections between Italy and Germany, covering the routes between Milan and Munich; Milan and Berlin; Rome and Munich; Naples and Munich; and Naples and Berlin. The new service will be operated with the Frecciarossa 1000, Trenitalia's high-speed train, which was designed to travel in Italy and on other railway networks in Europe, being able to overcome the differences in power supply and signalling in various countries. The new Frecciarossa connection to Germany and Austria will also allow travellers to connect to numerous other destinations by rail, including Frankfurt and Krakow. Last September Italy's transport minister Matteo Salvini inaugurated the new , a night train that connects Rome with Vienna in 16 hours, while earlier this year the FS Group announced plans to launch a high-speed rail service by 2029. Photo credit: bellena / Shutterstock.com.