Deutsche Bahn (DB) sees potential for holiday travel in its planned new direct connections using Frecciarossa high-speed trains operated by Italian railway company Trenitalia. The new services from Munich to Milan and Rome would provide direct access to “numerous popular holiday destinations” along the routes, DB said on Wednesday. Rail competitor Flixtrain also plans to expand its services.
Deutsche Bahn plans to launch direct services from Munich to Milan and Rome in summer 2027, in cooperation with Trenitalia and Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). Initially, DB plans to operate two train pairs, meaning two outbound and two return services, on each of the Munich–Milan and Munich–Rome routes. The Milan route will include stops such as Innsbruck, Bolzano, Verona and Brescia. The service to Rome will also stop in Bologna and Florence.
From December 2028, the connections are planned to be extended further in Italy to Naples and in Germany to Berlin, according to DB. The cooperation aims to “make Italy and Austria, two particularly popular holiday destinations, even more conveniently accessible from Germany by rail,” said Michael Peterson, DB Board Member for Long-Distance Passenger Transport.
The approximately 600-kilometre journey from Munich to Milan will take around six and a half hours, according to Deutsche Bahn. The 900-kilometre journey from the Bavarian capital to Rome is expected to take eight and a half hours. The services will use the Frecciarossa, Trenitalia’s high-speed train, which has been operating in Italy since 2015 and is now also used in France and Spain.
DB competitor Flixtrain is also investing in high-speed trains. The company announced on Wednesday that it plans to gradually introduce 65 trains of the Star type from 2028. The trains can travel at speeds of up to 230 km/h and are intended to “usher in a new era of travel in Germany.” Flixtrain will also operate on the Berlin–Munich route for the first time. Further new destinations are expected to be announced next year. According to Flixtrain, the contract for all 65 trains from Spanish manufacturer Talgo, as well as locomotives from Siemens, has a total value of €2.4 billion.
Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) welcomed Flixtrain’s investment as an important contribution to “strengthening rail transport.” The German government’s stated goal is to use greater competition to “attract significantly more passengers to sustainable and climate-friendly travel by train and further increase the attractiveness of rail transport.”
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