Italian train operator Trenitalia to open Paris-Marseille route

Italian train operator Trenitalia is to begin operating trains between Paris and Marseille from next year (2025), four years after it began running Paris-Lyon services.

The company is preparing to offer two return Paris-Marseille journeys per day on an entirely new line, reports Le Parisien. The journey will also service Nice station in France, and Genoa and Milan stations in Italy. 

The operator’s famous red trains - nicknamed Frecciarossa (“red arrow”) - will run on the line, and pay reduced fees to French train operator SNCF Réseau to use the tracks. 

Exact launch delayed due to landslide

An exact launch date has not yet been announced for the new service.

This is due to uncertainty surrounding the Maurienne valley landslide, which affected the French-Italy passage in August 2023. So far, disruption caused by the landslide has caused an estimated €30 million worth of loss on the Paris-Lyon-Milan line.

SNCF Réseau is in charge of clearing the blockage, and has said it expects traffic to return to normal in the “first quarter” of next year. 

The new line is therefore likely to begin operating anytime from spring 2025.

Trenitalia eyeing up other routes

Trenitalia has already been running five daily return journeys from Paris-Lyon since 2021, and is already considering other routes as well as the Paris-Marseille service. 

Read also: Paris-Lyon train tickets on sale at €23 on Italian service Trenitalia 

These are said to include Paris-Strasbourg, and international services from Paris to Brussels, London and even Amsterdam.

It comes after French operator SNCF Voyageurs also plans to expand into Italy in 2026. It has not yet commented on the Trenitalia news.