Frecciarossa Approaches Linking Italy and Germany.. Tests Pave the Way for Services in 2027

Italian high-speed trains, the Frecciarossa, have begun test runs on railway networks in Germany and Austria as part of the international certification phase, paving the way for the launch of direct lines connecting Milan and Rome to Munich starting in summer 2027.

The Italian railway group FS announced that the tests include routes in Germany and Austria in cooperation with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and Austria’s ÖBB, with the aim of ensuring the trains’ compatibility with the different national electrical and signaling systems.

The Milan–Munich journey is expected to take about six and a half hours, compared to around eight and a half hours for the Rome–Munich route, with stops in several cities including Verona, Bolzano, and Innsbruck.

The group also plans to expand the service from December 2028 to ten links between Italy and Germany, with extensions later to Naples and Berlin. The opening of the Brenner Base Tunnel is expected to reduce travel times by about an hour.