Rome/Paris, 7 August 2026
Through Trenitalia France, the FS Italiane Group is strengthening its fleet with 19 new high-speed trains supplied by Hitachi Rail to support its growth plan in France, between Paris and London, and across Europe.
The investment, amounting to approximately two billion euros, includes the construction of the trains and the long-term maintenance and technical support services.
The new trains will enable Trenitalia France, a subsidiary of FS International, to strengthen its presence on the Paris–Lyon, Paris–Milan and Paris–Marseille routes, improving the quality of service and increasing the frequency of services. They will also form part of the fleet for the future high-speed link between Paris and London, which is confirmed to begin in 2029.
The new trains are designed to operate on Europe’s main high-speed networks. The new fleet represents a key element of Trenitalia France and the FS Group’s international development strategy, as well as an important step towards the completion of the strategic partnership between the FS Group and Certares.
To support operational growth, the development of the new maintenance facility at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour, on the outskirts of Paris, is also proceeding according to plan. The structure will provide the necessary maintenance capacity to support the expansion of the fleet and the launch of new international routes.
The agreement with Hitachi Rail and the associated investments in manufacturing, maintenance and infrastructure will help create around two thousand jobs across France, Italy and the United Kingdom, both directly and throughout the entire industrial supply chain.
“This order represents a strategic step for FS Group: it strengthens our presence in France, a key market for international growth, and supports the development of high-speed services that are increasingly efficient, sustainable and competitive. The new trains and the new maintenance centre at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour are also key elements in the launch of the Paris–London service, a project central to the vision of the ‘European Underground’, i.e. the integrated high-speed network that will connect Europe’s major cities in an increasingly comprehensive manner,” said Gianpiero Strisciuglio, the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the FS Italiane Group.
“The potential of this partnership is exceeding our expectations. We have seen extraordinary interest from investors of all kinds who wish to gain exposure to the European high-speed rail market and are keen to join us in developing the sector. This is a very strong confirmation of the investment opportunity before us: combining the FS Group operational excellence with our global travel distribution assets to build a world-class international high-speed rail platform,” said Greg O’Hara, Senior Managing Director and founder of Certares.
“With this project, we are consolidating Hitachi Rail’s role as a technology partner for the next generation of high-speed rail services in Europe. The trains will be designed to ensure high standards of sustainability, operational efficiency and cross-border interoperability - factors that are increasingly essential for supporting the growth of international rail traffic. The expansion of Trenitalia France services represents a further step towards more integrated and sustainable European mobility,” said Giuseppe Marino, Group Chief Executive Officer of Hitachi Rail.
The new trains will offer high standards of comfort, innovation and sustainability. On board, passengers will be able to enjoy next-generation Wi-Fi connectivity of up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps), a new concept of bistro, an enhanced catering offer and interiors that have been completely redesigned to ensure an even more comfortable travel experience across all classes of service.
The new fleet will also deliver high environmental performance with a recyclability rate of up to 97.1% and a further reduction of around 120,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions per train compared with the previous generation.
Trenitalia France has also finalised commercial partnership agreements with the Certares distribution partners. These agreements will be implemented gradually over the coming months and will enable the Company to expand its distribution capacity, support growth in both business and leisure travel, and facilitate the development of future international routes.