The Italian high-speed rail operator, Italo, plans to launch services on German tracks starting in April 2028, aiming to compete directly with Deutsche Bahn’s ICE trains using blue-colored rolling stock.
The announcement was made by Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. As part of the initial rollout, the company intends to deploy 30 new Siemens Velaro trains, the same model used for the ICE trains. Montezemolo detailed plans for 56 daily connections, including hourly service between Munich, Cologne, and Dortmund, as well as every two hours between Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg.
The total investment into this German venture is slated at €3.6 billion. This massive investment also covers the costs of a maintenance contract with Siemens spanning over 30 years. Operationally, Italo will establish an independent, German-run company, which will be founded using the existing subsidiary, Atrium SE. Beyond the rail infrastructure, the company anticipates creating 2,500 new positions in service and operation, and supporting over 5,000 industrial jobs in the production of rolling stock, primarily located in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Despite the ambitious financial planning, Montezemolo stressed that securing long-term guarantees regarding network capacity allocation is a prerequisite for the project. He stated that Italo requires certainty on this matter by the end of May, noting that the recruitment of German staff is expected to begin in June. He expressed confidence that the introduction of competition into the German market would result in both lower prices and higher quality services, drawing a parallel to Italy, where average train ticket prices dropped by 40% following Italo’s initial market entry.
