Italy's state rail operator Ferrovie dello Stato has said it will increase operations in its Trenitalia France unit, via a billion-dollar joint venture with US private equity fund Certares.
The agreement seeks to "accelerate the growth" of Trenitalia France and "consolidate its presence in France, the United Kingdom and cross-border markets," the partners said in a statement.
Trenitalia France, a passenger subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), plans to expand its fleet to at least 19 trains, as well as to open a maintenance facility outside Paris and offer increased service capacity on existing routes, including Paris to Lyon, from a current nine daily services to 14.
Trenitalia France also intends to compete with Eurostar on the latter's Paris-London route by 2029 and is planning to invest €1 billion in its routes in the UK, as well as France.
FS is scaling up its ambitions at a time when high-speed rail services are expanding amid intensified cross-border competition.
Eurostar named Europe's worst rail service while Italy's Trenitalia leads the way
SNCF competition
The Italian operator is also considering moving in on the Paris-Brussels route, the group indicated during a presentation of its strategic plan earlier in December.
It has been in direct competition with French state rail network SNCF for four years, offering services from Paris to Lyon, Marseille, and Milan – without these as yet being profitable.
Certares's activities focus on travel and tourism, hospitality, business and consumer services, and Trenitalia France also intends to improve its services distribution through agreements with companies within the Certares portfolio – including business and leisure travel agencies CWT, Ovation, Egencia, Havas Voyages and Selectour.
In the coming year, Trenitalia France plans to focus on consolidating and retaining customers in France, hoping to boost occupancy rates on its TGV trains, its management said.
(with newswires)
