Berlin, 25 September 2024 - A meeting was held during InnoTrans, between the Italian Ambassador in Germany, Armando Varricchio, and FS Group Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Stefano Donnarumma. The meeting, organised on the eve of the leading international trade fair for transport technology's opening, was an important opportunity to discuss FS Group's presence in the Country and further development opportunities along the lines of economic cooperation between Italy and Germany.
The FS Group considers Europe as its domestic market, and it is operationally active in its railway and road sectors. Germany plays a key role as part of the Group's international expansion strategy. Indeed, FS has a well-established presence on the German rail market, in both the passenger and freight transport sectors. Netinera (a subsidiary of Trenitalia) is the second private operator in German local transport, and offers rail and road services in 11 Länder and in the 3 city-states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg. TX Logistik (a subsidiary of Mercitalia Logistics) is active in rail freight transport and, in 2023, it became the second largest freight transport operator in the Country, after taking over the Duisburg logistics terminal and acquiring the German Exploris Group. Moreover, there are further expansion opportunities, particularly in the high-speed market with Trenitalia's Frecciarossa connections.
"The cooperation between Italy and Germany, the first two manufacturing economies in Europe, confirms itself strategic," said Ambassador Varricchio. In addition to being Italy's first trading partner, Berlin is the first destination market for our exports, and the first supplier and first incoming market for tourist flows. All data (and records) testifying to economic and trade relations of absolute importance for the Italian system. "Given the high degree of interconnection between the two production fabrics, there are countless opportunities on both sides and for our Country system in particular," added Ambassador Varricchio.
FS Italiane Group's CEO and DG, Stefano Donnarumma, said: “Germany is a central player in the European rail market, and represents a Country in which we can continue to invest and expand our presence, by counting on the excellent cooperation with local partners. In addition to our already established activities, we are now looking at entering the German HS sector, by exploiting the potential of the European rail market liberalisation, as has already been done in France and Spain. In partnership with Deutsche Bahn, we are working on the development of new cross-border connections that, from 2026 onward, will allow reaching Munich from Rome and Milan with our Frecciarossa 1000."