Italy's Italo Orders 26 Siemens Velaro Trains for Germany Entry

Italy's Italo Holding has ordered 26 eight-car Siemens Velaro Multi System high-speed trainsets, with an option for 14 more, to launch open-access services in Germany. The contract is worth about €3bn and includes a 30-year full-service maintenance agreement based at a Siemens Mobility depot in Dortmund.

The Velaro Multi System trains run on four voltage systems (1.5kV/3kV DC and 15kV/25kV AC) -- decoding as the ability to cross Italy, France, Germany and other European networks without changing locomotive -- seat about 440 passengers per train and reach 320 km/h. Each unit will integrate Starlink satellite antennas for onboard connectivity, and the maintenance package includes Siemens' Railigent X platform for AI-based predictive fleet monitoring. Trains will be manufactured at Siemens' Krefeld plant.

Italo's total investment to enter the German market -- including the trains, station and IT infrastructure, and recruiting and training about 2,500 employees -- totals €3.6bn, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Planned routes include Munich-Cologne-Dortmund and Munich-Berlin-Hamburg, with reporting pointing to roughly 50 daily services across 18 cities on a 1,300km network; sources disagree on the precise month of the 2028 service launch, so no specific date is given here.

"Italo Holding's decision is a strong vote of confidence in Siemens Mobility and in Velaro, one of the world's most successful high-speed platforms," said Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility. Gianbattista La Rocca, CEO of Italo, said the operator intends "to offer German passengers a wider choice, more frequent services, fair prices and a high-quality service." Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Chairman of Italo Holding, called the order "the start of an important new chapter for European rail transport." Alstom is not named in any capacity in the Siemens announcement or in Il Sole 24 Ore's coverage of the deal.