FS Italiane orders the fleet for its Paris–London launch
CROSS-BORDER: FS Italiane has ordered 19 high-speed trains from Hitachi Rail in an investment of around EUR 2bn covering construction and long-term maintenance. The fleet will carry Trenitalia France’s expansion — including the Paris–London service now confirmed to launch in 2029.
The order, announced 7 August, assigns the trains to Trenitalia France, the FS International subsidiary running high-speed services on the French network. The package includes a new maintenance hub at Maisons-Alfort Pompadour near Paris.
The trains will first add frequencies on Paris–Lyon, Paris–Milan and Paris–Marseille, with the fleet also equipping the Channel Tunnel route once it launches — FS’s first firm rolling stock commitment tied to that corridor, where Eurostar has operated alone since 1994.
From plan to order
FS announced its Paris–London plan in April 2025 with a projected investment of EUR 1bn. In December 2025, US investment firm Certares partnered with FS to fund the international expansion; under the partnership, Trenitalia France set a target of at least 19 trains and up to 28 daily round trips on Paris–Lyon.
The doubles the headline figure: the EUR 2bn covers construction plus long-term maintenance and technical support. FS puts the employment effect at around 2,000 jobs across France, Italy and the United Kingdom, including the supply chain.
“This order represents a strategic step for the FS Group: it strengthens our presence in France, a key market for international growth,” said Gianpiero Strisciuglio, chief executive of FS Italiane.
He described the trains and the Maisons-Alfort Pompadour hub as fundamental to the Paris–London launch — part of what FS calls a “metro of Europe”, an integrated high-speed network connecting the continent’s main cities.
What stands between order and launch
Trenitalia France currently operates Frecciarossa 1000 sets on Paris–Lyon, Paris–Milan and Paris–Marseille, the last launched in June 2025. FS has not specified the platform for the new order.
The confirmed 2029 launch date gives Hitachi Rail around three years from order to trains certified for cross-Channel operation.