SNCF plans Italy expansion
French state rail operator SNCF will expand into Italy in 2027, offering services linking Turin with Venice and Rome.
SNCF has been allocated at least 18 ‘track slots’ per day across the two routes and will operate the services through a subsidiary company.
This will be the company’s first service operating entirely within Italy, as SNCF already operates a Paris-Turin-Milan high-speed service, and local trains in southeast France extend into Italy from Nice.
New Finland-Sweden rail link
Finland is set to introduce a new cross-border rail route to Sweden this summer, linking the two countries by passenger rail for the first time in 30 years.
Located between the cities of Oulu (Finland) and Luleå (Sweden), the €1,9 million (R36,5 million) project restores the Tornio-Haparanda rail link. The project also includes plans for a future Helsinki-Stockholm journey of roughly 24 hours.
The service will make it possible to travel by train from Kolari in Lapland through to southern Europe via onward rail connections.
