Italo’s plan to enter the German high-speed rail market is coming to life. The private company, which in 2012 entered into competition with Frecciarossa breaking the monopoly of the Fs group in Italy, is ready for a new challenge. This time the monopolist is the German railways, in particular the Ice service (high-speed trains) of Deutsche Bahn (Db). Italo Holding and the German manufacturer Siemens Mobility signed the contract in Munich for the purchase of 26 high-speed trains, with an option for an additional 14 and 30 years of maintenance, which will be used in Germany. The agreement, according to an Italo statement, represents a decisive step towards introducing competition in one of the largest railway markets in Europe.
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The Siemens trains, Velaro Multi System model, with a maximum speed of 320 km/h, will consist of 8 carriages, 450 seats, 3 travel environments (Club Executive, Prima Business, and Smart), bistro, 5G connection, and ultra-fast Starlink satellite connection.
The total investment of 3.6 billion euros includes the purchase of the trains, assembled at the Siemens plant in Krefeld, the hiring and training of about 2,500 employees (including the induced effect), as well as investments in stations and IT infrastructure. The investment also includes a 30-year service contract, which provides for full maintenance at the Siemens Mobility depot in Dortmund. To further maximize fleet availability throughout the entire life cycle of the trains, the contract includes Siemens’ Railigent X and AI-based digital services.
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From mid-2028, the German company controlled by Italo will operate along two main corridors: Munich-Cologne-Dortmund and Munich-Berlin-Hamburg, serving 18 cities on a network of 1,300 kilometers with a total of 50 daily runs.
The signing of the contract with Siemens comes after a series of authorizations that the German authorities have granted to Italo to operate on the national railway network. Without these authorizations, it would not have been possible to proceed with the order placement.
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