A new train route has been proposed that could connect some of the prettiest seaside towns in Italy and France. Train operator FS Treni Turistici Italiani Passenger Hub has announced it is looking to introduce services between the Côte d’Azur on France’s Meditteranean and neighbouring Liguria in Italy.
The Italian operator has already launched one successful route joining Paris with Lyon and Milan, giving tourists a multitude of options for travelling through the continent by rail.
Services could launch as soon as this summer and it continues an exciting recent trend of lots of new potential train routes across Europe being considered.
A train link all the way from Belgium to Slovakia is being proposed rail line by extending the European Sleeper route to Prague.
As well as connecting seaside towns Treni Turistici has said its new route would connect Milan and Marseille via the sun-soaked coast.
Otherwise known as the French Riviera, the French side of the coast is lined by more than a dozen picturesque towns and cities, including Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez, all famous tourist hotspots.
Treni Turistici has not disclosed the exact route trains would follow but has said it could offer daily round-trip services between Milan and Marseille.
Microstate Monaco and seaside town Nice are reportedly on the cards as potential stops, and several Italian destinations are likely to also be added as stops.
Ventimiglia, Dolceacqua, Bordighera and Sanremo all lead up to the French border. They all flank the Italian Riviera, the crescent-shaped strip of Mediterranean coastline in Liguria.
Genoa, another stunning major city on Italy’s coast and Liguria’s capital is the Riviera’s largest community. Treni Turistici will ultimately decide the final route alongside state-owned French rail network SNCF, and Treni Turistici boss Luigi Cantamessa said it will primarily serve as an “intercity” service.
He said: “[The new routes] will not be on a high-speed line but rather an intercity line. This should probably be put into service for the summer of 2024 with one Milan-Marseille round trip per day.”
He added: “We are convinced that taking into account the traffic situation, particularly in the Liguria region, and the growing sensitivity towards the environment, the market conditions are now ripe to operate a route daily seasonal focused on tourism needs.”
