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French national rail operator SNCF said Wednesday it planned to offer high-speed passenger services in neighbouring Italy from 2026, competing with rival Trenitalia on its home turf.<\/p>\n
“Italy is a natural market for high speed, with 56 million passengers per year,” said Alain Krakovitch, head of intercity TGV (high-speed train) services at SNCF Voyageurs.<\/p>\n
“But it’s a market that’s yet to mature, with many passengers still to bring in.”<\/p>\n
SNCF plans eventually to offer nine daily return services between Turin, Milan, Rome and Naples, as well as four Turin-Venice trains.<\/p>\n
The French heavyweight moved into Spain with intercity services in 2021, and has seen Trenitalia itself look to pick up business in France on the profitable Paris-Lyon line.<\/p>\n
SNCF hopes to claim 15 percent of the Italian high-speed market within a decade, or 10 million passengers per year.<\/p>\n
In Spain, it has built its passenger base to 20 percent with its low-cost Ouigo service.<\/p>\n
European business already accounts for one-third of SNCF’s annual high-speed revenues, or three billion euros ($3.2 billion).<\/p>\n
The publicly owned firm is also responding to explosive demand for rail travel at home in France.<\/p>\n
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