Italian state railway group FS ordered trains for a Paris–London high speed corridor in July 2026, and its international chief says that order converts a long-standing ambition into a funded plan. Speaking at InnoTrans in Berlin on September 23, FS International CEO Luigi Corradi framed high speed rail as the core of the group's growth strategy across Europe.

'We believe we are the best in class in managing high speed trains', Corradi said. 'There is nobody that can do it as we can do. We want to create an export of our Italian capability.'

What is the 'metro of Europe' vision?

Corradi presented a concept he called a 'metro of Europe': a network of high speed links connecting the continent's major urban centres. The Paris–London order is the first hard evidence that the strategy extends beyond rhetoric.

'We ordered the trains, so it's not just a dream anymore', he said. 'If you don't dream enough, you cannot make the future reality, and that's what we want to do.'

The group has not yet published a service start date for the cross-Channel corridor, which would place FS in direct competition with Eurostar on one of Europe's busiest high speed routes.

How does the ETR 1000 underpin expansion?

The operational backbone of the strategy is the ETR 1000 high speed trainset. FS decided to buy it in 2010, with a requirement that a single train be able to run in seven different European countries. That specification created a major engineering challenge: designers compiled national standards into a single database containing thousands of rules.

'It was a kind of nightmare, believe me', Corradi recalled. 'The producer of the train said at first: wow we can't design a train with such a large number of specifications.'

The trains entered service in 2015 despite those hurdles. They now serve as a key operational asset for the group's expansion into France and Spain.

'Thanks to the Frecciarossa we can say we are in advance in comparison with other companies', Corradi said.

AnsaldoBreda and Bombardier Transportation originally designed the train. Hitachi Rail later acquired AnsaldoBreda, Alstom acquired Bombardier Transportation, and Hitachi Rail alone builds later generations of the trainset.

When do German services start?

Trenitalia will launch Milano–München and Roma–München services in summer 2027, in co-operation with Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB. Corradi positioned Germany as a large long-distance market with limited competition, where partnership reduces entry risk.

'The German market is big, and not yet a market with much competition on long distance trains', he said. 'We strongly believe we are selecting the best way to start. Our plan today is to go through Germany in a collaboration with Deutsche Bahn, this creates less risk.'

How large is FS International today?

FS International already co-ordinates operations across six European countries and manages a workforce of 12 000 employees. Its portfolio includes:

• High speed services in France through Trenitalia France
• High speed services in Spain through Iryo
• Regional routes and bus networks in Germany through Netinera
• Passenger and freight operations in Greece through Hellenic Train
• Train and bus operations in the Netherlands through Qbuzz

Corradi said the group prioritises 'mixing culture and mixing local activity with Italian know-how' over managing foreign networks from Italy. He pointed to the French business as the model: 'In France, I can tell you we are a French-Italian company. More French than Italian for sure because we manage now business there.'

That local depth matters at institutional level, he argued. FS has operated in Germany for many years, and 'we do not just have operations and depots, but also know the norms, the culture and how to speak at institutional level, because there are people that do that every day.'

What role does FS Advisory play in the UK?

Corradi also highlighted London-based FS Advisory, announced in February and led by former Trenitalia UK CEO Ernesto Sicilia. The business advises governments, investors and operators.

FS Advisory draws on the group's UK experience and aims to retain that knowledge despite the renationalisation of passenger rail services under the future Great British Railways. Corradi framed the unit as part of the same export strategy: 'What we want to do is to create an export of our Italian capability, of our Italian knowledge.'

With the ETR 1000 fleet in service across three countries, German services scheduled for 2027 and Paris–London trains already ordered, Corradi's stated test for the strategy — turning ambition into hardware on the ground — now has concrete dates attached to it.