Operators Deutsche Bahn (DB), ÖBB and Trenitalia announce a historic agreement to operate direct high-speed trains between Germany and Italy from December 2026.
The inaugural service will connect Munich and Milan in approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes, with stops in Innsbruck, Brenner, Bolzano, Verona and Brescia. In addition, a daily connection will be offered between Munich and Rome, with an estimated time of 8 hours 30 minutes.
This service will use Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa 1000s, which will operate in Austria and Germany for the first time.
Two years later 2028, trains will reach Berlin on the German side and Naples on the Italian side. By then, five daily connections between Germany and Italy are expected.
The initiative is part of the European Commission’s pilot projects to promote sustainable and cross-border travel.
The opening of the Brenner Base Tunnel in 2032 will further reduce travel times by an additional hour. The project’s success depends on the approval of the trains in Austria and Germany, a process that is already underway with tests in both countries.