Italy confirms high-speed rail links with Germany and Austria 'by 2026'
Trenitalia's famed Frecciarossa ('red arrow') high-speed trains are set to operate on international routes as soon as next year, Italy's national rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS Group) said on Wednesday as it confirmed long-discussed plans to Italian media.
'The new cross-border high speed connections from Milan to Munich and Rome to Munich will be active by 2026,' FS Group management said in a statement, following agreements made with German railway company Deutsche Bahn and Austrian operator ÖBB.
'Services will be gradually extended to Berlin and Naples from December 2028.'
The European Commission had chosen the rail link between Italy, Austria and Germany as a pilot scheme for a wider 'European Metro' improved high-speed rail network, the company said.
The Milan-Munich route is expected to take 6.5 hours, with stops in Brescia, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck.
The Rome-Munich route, taking 8.5 hours, will stop in Florence, Bologna, Verona, Rovereto, Trento, Bolzano and Innsbruck.
Travel time is expected to be cut by an hour in future with the reopening of the Brenner Base Tunnel rail link, the statement said.
From December 2028, the company plans to operate a total of ten high-speed routes between Italy and Germany: Milan and Munich; Milan and Berlin; Rome and Munich; Naples and Munich; and Naples and Berlin.
'The new Frecciarossa connection will offer a direct service between Italy and Germany, passing through Austria, and will have a significant impact on rail connections between the two countries,' the company stated.
'With the support of German infrastructure, which connects to numerous other countries, the line will also fill a transport demand for other destinations such as Frankfurt and Krakow.'
Trenitalia already operates several non-high-speed cross-border routes, including Venice-Vienna, Trieste-Ljubljana, Milan-Zurich and Verona-Innsbruck.
The latest announcement came after FS Group revealed in April that it also aims to launch a London-Paris service in competition with Eurostar by 2029.
"Evaluations are underway for possible extensions of the London-Paris service through Lille, Ashford, Lyon, Marseille and Milan," it said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Italy
5 days ago
- Local Italy
Anger mounts in Florence as closure looms for US consulate
The Florence Consulate is one of over 100 bureaus and offices targeted for closure under President Donald Trump's sweeping plans to downsize the US State Department to slash costs and improve efficiency. Besides the Florence Consulate, other consulates slated for closure include Rennes, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Bordeaux in France, as well as Dusseldorf, Leipzig, and Hamburg in Germany. First announced in late April, plans to overhaul the State Department were formally presented to Congress by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday. "The reorganisation plan will result in a more agile Department, better equipped to promote America's interests and keep Americans safe across the world," Rubio said in a statement. The congressional notification sparked anger among Americans in Florence, reigniting concerns that thousands of US residents and visitors in the area may soon be stripped of quick access to essential services including emergency assistance in the event of natural disasters and hospitalisations. Mary Lokken, a California native who has been living in Florence for over 40 years, told La Repubblica that closing the Florence Consulate means 'depriving us of services that we all use at least once – from the issuance of visas and passports to information on taxes and elections, and even social benefits". Lindsey Brock, a member of local activist group Good Trouble Firenze, also voiced anger over the planned closure, calling it 'yet another cut to services aimed at American citizens'. 'Foreign residents and tourists will pay the real price," she added. According to La Repubblica, the Florence Consulate offers support to around four million visitors every year, as well as over 200 businesses operating between Italy and the US. If it were to close, US nationals in the area would need to travel to one of the country's other consulates in Milan or Naples, or the Rome Embassy to access help. The planned closure is 'madness,' Maurizio Mancianti, president of the Tuscan American Association, said. This 'directly affects all American citizens who live or pass through here', as well as 'anyone who needs to travel to or run a business in the United States,' he added. Plans to close the Florence Consulate were also harshly criticised by Mayor Sara Funaro, who called the move 'reckless' given 'the many Americans who study and work' in the city. Funaro said she intended to ask Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and US authorities for clarification on the matter. 'Florence cannot be written off like this," she said. Following last week's developments, the Florence Consulate said it would 'continue carrying out its usual activities' pending official communications from the US.
Local Italy
5 days ago
- Local Italy
Major Mount Etna eruption in Sicily sends tourists fleeing in panic
The eruption began at around 3.50am local time, following a series of volcanic tremors which started around midnight. Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said in a statement that the volcano was experiencing explosions 'of growing intensity' and that eruption activity was currently "almost continuous". 'Over the past few hours, the falling of thin ash has been flagged in the Piano Vetore area [south of the volcano],' the statement added. 'From a seismic point of view, the values of the tremor amplitude are currently high with a tendency to increase further,' INGV noted. The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse, one of nine centres used to monitor aviation risks around the world, warned that Mount Etna's ash plume had reached an altitude of around 6,400 metres. Footage widely shared on social media (click here if it doesn't show below) showed people running down one side of the volcano, as a thick column of smoke billowed above them. #Etna éruption en live — 🥗Aurelien Pouzin🍯 (@aurelienpouzin) June 2, 2025 There were no immediate reports of injuries following the eruption. Italian media reports also said there was no immediate risk to the local population, which is accustomed to Mount Etna's frequent eruptions. "Everything's under control," Catania Mayor Enrico Tarantino told Il Sole 24 Ore. "There's no critical issue," he said. "Based on our monitoring of the volcano, [the eruption] was expected, and access to the summit had already been restricted." Flights to and from Catania's Vincenzo Bellini Airport weren't affected by the volcano's eruption, according to the latest local media reports. Though the airport remained fully operational, Sicily's aviation authorities issued an orange alert earlier on Monday, urging pilots to exercise caution when flying near the area. Mount Etna is Europe's largest and most active volcano. It last erupted on February 11th, spewing hot ash and lava from its top crater. Mount Etna's most destructive eruption on record took place in 1669, when lava swept through villages located on the volcano's slopes all the way down to Catania, on Sicily's eastern coast. Defensive walls protected the city and sent molten rock plunging into the harbour. Major eruptions have taken place roughly twice a decade since the 1970s, often accompanied by earthquakes. The last time an eruption resulted in the loss of human life was 1987, when a woman and her seven-year-old son were caught in a sudden explosion while walking near the summit with their tour group.
Local Italy
30-05-2025
- Local Italy
Five questions to ask before buying a second home in Italy
Whether it's a rustic cottage in a peaceful countryside village, or an elegant apartment in a major city like Rome, Florence or Milan, having a second home in Italy is a dream for many. But if you're planning to make that dream come true, there are some things to consider before you go house-hunting. Here are some questions we suggest you ask yourself before purchasing a seconda casa in Italy. What do you want to use it for? For some people, purchasing a home in Italy may just be a way to secure a place to spend the holidays in the country without resorting to a property rental or a hotel year in, year out. That said, it's far from uncommon for foreign nationals to buy an Italian property, use it as a holiday home for a while and then decide that they want it to become their main residence. This makes the process of moving to Italy a lot easier since you already have a place to stay and are familiar with the area. However, it also brings up a number of practical questions, including important legal considerations. If you're a non-EU national and intend to live in Italy full-time, you'll have to get a long-stay visa. Exactly which type you need will depend on your plans - namely, whether you want to work, study or retire to Italy. Securing a visa will only be the first part of the process, as you'll need to apply for a residency permit within eight days of arriving in the country. Besides your residency status, there are other factors to keep in mind if you plan to move to Italy full-time. If you plan to relocate while still of working age, are there good job opportunities nearby? And if you're thinking of your property as a place to retire to in the future, are there good health facilities locally? Will you need a car? While many major cities around Italy have robust public transport networks, services in rural regions are often very limited, with just the occasional bus. If you have your eye on a property in a small town or village in rural Italy, chances are you'll need a car to move around. Unfortunately, Italy's Highway Code places restrictions on who can buy a vehicle in the country. Under Article 134 of the Code, foreign nationals who are not Italian residents cannot purchase and register a car in Italy. This leaves few options for second-home owners. Foreign motorists who are not Italian residents can drive their foreign-registered cars or motorbikes for a maximum of one year in Italy. As a non-resident foreign national, you can also rent a car or drive a friend or relative's vehicle, though there are some important restrictions and rules to be aware of in the latter case. Depending on your nationality, you may also need to get an International Driving Permit (IDP) or a certified translation of your foreign-issued licence to drive in Italy. If you're a non-EU national and plan to move to Italy full-time in the future, remember that you'll need to get an Italian licence to drive in the country after one year of residency. This may involve taking an Italian driving test if your home country doesn't have a licence agreement with Italy. Can you fund upkeep and maintenance? The purchase cost is only the beginning, as you'll also need to pay for the upkeep of the property, as well as taxes including Italy's tax on second homes, IMU (Unified Municipal Tax). If your financial plan depends on your home partially paying for itself through holiday rentals, it's strongly advisable to familiarise yourself with both local and national rules, including a requirement for owners to hold a national identification code. Italy has strict regulations on renting out property on platforms like Airbnb and Booking. And there is growing disquiet about housing shortages caused by tourist rentals in major cities and holiday hotspots, which means that legislation could be further tightened in the years to come. If you intend to rent out your second home, you should also keep in mind that this will bring you within the scope of the Italian taxman. As a foreign resident generating rental income in Italy, you'll be required to declare and pay tax on that income by filing yearly tax returns (dichiarazioni dei redditi) with Italy's Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate). Rental income will be subject to Italy's income tax IRPEF, which ranges from 23 percent to 43 percent of your earnings. Can you bear the costs (and paperwork) of extensive renovation? Italians may have little interest in buying and fixing up Italy's many unwanted old houses, but foreign nationals are often swept away by their charm. And international interest in old Italian properties has only intensified in recent years, with dozens of idyllic villages advertising 'one-euro' homes and and other low-cost property offers aimed specifically at foreigners. Of course, these long-neglected buildings cost much more than one euro to actually buy and renovate. Besides the hefty taxes and fees involved in the purchase process, the cost of renovating an old property can quickly run into tens of thousands of euros, not least because old homes are unlikely to comply with current regulations when it comes to things like energy efficiency or earthquake safety. Securing the necessary construction permits for a renovation project can also be a significant challenge without professional help, especially if your property is classed as a building of historic importance or is protected by Italy's conservation rules. Failure to secure the correct permit can ultimately result in you being ordered to tear down any work you have done. As a final point, prospective buyers are also strongly advised to ensure that the property they have their eye on is not an illegal build (abuso edilizio) – this is usually done by commissioning a technical inspection by a surveyor, as well as a review of the property's cadastral records by a notary. Illegal housebuilding is a decades-old issue in Italy, and hundreds of cases are detected every year. Remember: barring some rare exceptions, if you buy a property with undeclared modifications or without the correct permissions, you'll be responsible for paying to regularise the property. What will your social life be like? It's not all tedious admin - having a second home is supposed to be fun, and that will probably involve making some local friends to share dinners and drinks with. Readers of The Local have previously told us that knowing at least some Italian is vital to integrating into your local community. Here are their top tips for learning or improving your italiano. Many of our readers have also told us that one of the best ways to get to know people and find friends is to join a local group, take a class or start a new sport. Some cities offer hobby-specific groups and courses through the comune or local associations. Another great place to look is Facebook, as it includes groups that often organise meet-ups, aperitivi and dinners.
