Overview
- Italo says it will deploy 30 high-speed trains on two Munich-centered corridors serving 18 cities with a start target of April 2028 and hourly or two-hourly services.
- The company promises fares about 20% below Deutsche Bahn, three onboard classes and a low-cost 'Smart Class' that it estimates will be roughly 60% cheaper than its top tier.
- Italo has pledged €3.6 billion in investment and expects to create about 2,500 operational jobs plus roughly 5,000 jobs in train production, with trains to be built by Siemens in Krefeld.
- The entry is conditional on a regulatory change: Italo has asked the Bundesnetzagentur for multi-year trassen or framework contracts instead of the current one-year approvals, and Deutsche Bahn and the rail union EVG warn new operators could pick only lucrative routes and weaken services to at least 16 smaller cities.
- Analysts point to Italy as a precedent where Italo captured about 30% of the high-speed market and pushed down rival fares, and other operators such as Trenitalia and Flixtrain are also preparing expansions that could reshape German long-distance rail.