TRENITALIA has applied through its Dutch subsidiary QBuzz for permission to operate a new high-speed service in the Netherlands from Amsterdam via Utrecht and Arnhem to the German border as part of new service linking Amsterdam, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main, which will start on January 1 2027.
The Dutch Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) will assess whether the new Trenitalia initiative poses a threat to Netherlands Railways (NS) under its national main line concession. Although international train services can be operated on an open access basis, the planned service will be open for use by domestic Dutch passengers, and therefore requires ACM approval.
Trenitalia plans to operate six round trips per day between Amsterdam and Frankfurt calling at Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne Main Station or Cologne Messe/Deutz, Siegburg/Bonn and Frankfurt Airport with a journey time of 3h 53min.
This would almost double the frequency between Amsterdam and Frankfurt as NS and German Rail (DB) currently operate seven round trips per day on the route using jointly owned ICE trains.
The Trenitalia service would be operated by multi-system ETR 1000 Frecciarossa trains. Trenitalia has just placed an order with Hitachi Rail for an additional 30 trains with an option for 10 more.
