Trenitalia is planning to connect Milan and Rome with Munich from summer 2027, using direct Frecciarossa services. The plan follows test runs in Germany and Austria, which are now underway as the company prepares its high-speed trains for cross-border operation.
The cross-border project is being developed by Trenitalia, part of the FS Group, in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn and Austria’s ÖBB. The tests, which began on 2 September, are a necessary part of the international certification process required before the trains can carry passengers commercially. Unlike domestic services, the new routes will have to meet the technical requirements of each country, including differences in power-supply and signalling systems. German and Austrian drivers are also receiving training for the new operation.
The initial plan includes four connections between Italy and Munich. The Milan–Munich journey is expected to take around six and a half hours, with stops including Brescia, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck. The Rome–Munich journey, meanwhile, is expected to take approximately eight and a half hours, with Florence and Bologna also included on the route.
The exact timetable and frequency of the services have not yet been published, meaning that the routes are not currently available for booking. Their launch also remains conditional on the successful completion of the approval and certification process. The trains will need to be adapted to operate across different railway systems before the commercial services can begin.
This project, according to FS, is part of a bigger plan to build a high-speed “European Metro”. The company expects the network to grow to ten Italy–Germany connections from December 2028, with services extended towards Naples and Berlin. The wider network could also support onward travel to destinations such as Frankfurt and Kraków, although those cities are not part of the initial direct service.
For tourism, the planned connections would create a new rail option between Italy and southern Germany, while also improving access to cities in northern Italy and destinations along the Alpine route. However, the launch date and final timetable will depend on the completion of the approval process.
