GERMANY: Italian private sector train operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori has a deadline of the end of May to ensure the viability of its plan to launch Italo-branded high speed services across the country by the end of 2028.
NTV has been competing on the Italian high speed network against state-owned incumbent Trenitalia for more than a decade, with a consensus emerging that this on-rail rivalry has led to rising patronage for both operators and to lower fares for passengers.
German ambitions
Speaking to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on April 29, NTV Chief Executive Gianbattista La Rocca said that the company had established a German subsidiary in 2025, submitting a request for an operating licence in October.
He stressed that the business would be a full-scale local subsidiary, reflecting a planned investment of €3ᐧ6bn to take on DB Fernverkehr’s ICE network of inter-city services.
‘A contract for the purchase and maintenance of the trains with Siemens Mobility has already been finalised and agreed’, La Rocca told the newspaper. However, NTV needs to sign the rolling stock contract ‘by June and it is not possible to postpone this date, under penalty of significantly extending the delivery times of the trains which would make the project no longer sustainable’.
He added that it is ‘absolutely essential’ that NTV receives ‘a clear and reliable overview of the train paths and station space we need for our operations’ from infrastructure manager DB InfraGO by the end of May.
NTV expects to spend €1ᐧ2bn for the purchase of 26 Siemens Velaro trainsets, with an option for a further 14. The remaining investment of €2ᐧ4bn would cover the maintenance of the trains for 30 years and the ancillary activity needed to establish the German business, including staff training and back office systems.
Network
The company envisages a network covering 18 cities and 1 300 km, offering 50 daily services. München – Köln – Dortmund and München – Berlin – Hamburg have been identified as priorities; these are the busiest inter-city routes in Germany.
Asked by Railway Gazette International for confirmation of the plans, NTV declined to comment but shared a further interview that founder and Chairman Luca di Montezemolo — a former Ferrari Formula 1 executive — had given to German newspaper FAZ, in which he corroborated the plans to order a fleet of trains for Germany and the priority routes.