Next year, Milan’s central station will inaugurate a new high-speed service linking the city directly to Munich, the first of several planned routes connecting Italy and Germany. A second Milan–Munich route will depart from Rome’s Termini station later in the year. By 2028, the network will extend south to Naples and north to Berlin.
These expansions are part of an ambitious strategy by Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) to connect Europe’s major cities with Italian high-speed trains. FS was among the first European rail operators to invest abroad, and its companies now transport about 230 million passengers a year outside Italy, on top of 570 million domestically. In 2024, the group recorded €3 billion in international revenue out of a total of €16.5 billion.
FS aims to boost international ridership by 40% in the next five years. The company already operates services in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and especially Spain, and it plans to expand further as Europe invests in cross-border high-speed travel.