French trains arrive in the Italian train markethigh speed: the Société nationale des chemins de fer (Sncf) presented to RFI, the Italian network manager, a request for a 15-year framework agreement, with the first trains entering service in 2026, with the aim of achieving a 15% market share by 2023.
Currently, Sncf operates in Italy with a cross-border service between Paris, Turin and Milan, but the goal is to extend to other cities: according to the first rumors, the first French trains on Italian tracks will gradually begin to circulate from 2026 on the Turin-Naples and Turin-Venice lines.
What will the new routes be?
But why in Italy? He answers the question Alain Krakovitch, the general director of Tgv-Intercity of the Sncf group: “Because we believe that high speed is well developed, but there is still room for growth, since this market is not yet saturated – he explained – We will continue the cross-border service and we will support this with entry into the domestic market, with the ambition of reaching 15% of the market by 2030”.
“Italy represents a fundamental and strategic market, with beyond 56 million passengers transported by high speed every year – they say from Sncf – it is a dynamic market, with a network that continues to grow and offers expansion prospects. Furthermore, 80% of Italian passengers who currently do not use the train are interested in this mode of transport. In a context of growth in rail demand in Europe, Sncf Voyageurs aims to acquire new customers who would not have traveled or who would have taken the plane or car, and thus contribute to reducing the level of CO2 emissions”
The plan for Italy includes up to 13 daily round trips, distributed over two main routes:
- nine trips return trip between Turin, Milan, Rome and Naples
- four Between Turin and Venice
The cities served will be Turin, Milan, Brescia, Verona, Padua, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples. Sncf remains open to the possibility of expanding the offer to other destinations, including Southern Italy, as soon as the infrastructure allows it. The train used will be the new TGV M, which will also be more environmentally friendly than any other Italian high-speed train (-37% energy consumption) with the first deliveries scheduled for the second half of 2025.
Sncf Voyageurs operates in 9 European countries in addition to France, with a third of its customers coming from international markets. It has been present in Italy since 1995 with the Artesia service and since 2011 with the Tgv Inoui cross-border service. Sncf Voyageurs’ development strategy aims to double the number of passengers in Europe over the next ten years. In Italy, Sncf will compete with the other two operators already present on high speed: Trenitalia of the FS Group and Italo-Ntv.
What’s new about FS and its presence in France
Railway competition, in which Italy has led the way in Europe, has been a consolidated reality for over a decade. Since 28 April 2012, the Frecce of the FS Group have been joined by the Italo trains of NTV, the private railway company founded in 2006. Initially, Sncf was among the shareholders of NTV, but subsequently sold its stake. Recently, NTV came under the control of the giant MSC.
The Italian group has been present in France since 2021 with the high-speed connection Paris-Lyon. Italo operates a fleet of 51 energy-efficient electric trains, connecting 54 cities across Italy and serving over 20 million passengers per year. Trenitalia also operates in England, including the London-Edinburgh route, and from 2021 offers the Milan-Paris connection. Furthermore, it is active in Germany with the subsidiary Netinera for commuter transport, in Greece, and in Spain from November 2022 with the Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona, Valencia and Cuenca connections.
In recent days the group presented the main financial statement data for the first three months of 2024, with operating revenues that exceeded 4 billion euros, marking a growth of 25% compared to the same period of 2023.
