Speaking in Rome at the launch of the ‘Next Level 2025-2029’ strategic plan, FS Group Chief Executive Stefano Donnarumma announced that the state-owned rail holding will close 2025 with more than €18 billion in capital expenditure—€7 billion of which is financed by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The outlay eclipses any single-year spend in the company’s history and positions FS as one of Europe’s largest green-infrastructure investors.
Projects under construction include the Brescia-Verona-Padua and Naples-Bari high-speed corridors, a new Genoa rail bypass to relieve freight congestion at the port, and digital signalling upgrades on regional commuter lines feeding Milan, Turin and Bologna. Funds also cover the first nine ‘smart hubs’—major stations redesigned with co-working lounges, biometric ticket gates and luggage robots aimed at business travellers.
For corporate mobility managers the implications are two-fold. In the short term, weekend engineering possessions will create intermittent disruption and require schedule padding. Over the medium term, journey times between Milan and Venice should fall below two hours by late 2026, while Bari will move within three hours of Rome once the southern line opens. That combination is expected to shift domestic business traffic from air to rail, particularly given forthcoming EU environmental taxes on short-haul flights.
![Ferrovie dello Stato confirms record €18 billion investment for 2025, accelerating high-speed and regional upgrades]()
Business travellers and foreign engineers heading to Italy to scope these opportunities will also need to secure the correct travel documentation. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) can handle everything from short-stay Schengen visas to work permits, providing fast online processing, document pre-screening and door-to-door courier services—saving valuable time as firms position themselves for FS’s expansion.
FS plans to invest a further €177 billion between 2026 and 2034, with a stated goal of converting 40 percent of conventional lines to ERTMS digital control and doubling freight capacity on the Scandinavian-Mediterranean TEN-T corridor. The group is also expanding its corporate-travel offerings, including subscription passes bundled with meeting-room access in the renovated stations.
Foreign contractors and rolling-stock suppliers have until March 2026 to participate in the next procurement round. Donnarumma said the company will require ‘robust localisation plans’, signalling opportunities for international firms to set up Italian subsidiaries or joint ventures.
Projects under construction include the Brescia-Verona-Padua and Naples-Bari high-speed corridors, a new Genoa rail bypass to relieve freight congestion at the port, and digital signalling upgrades on regional commuter lines feeding Milan, Turin and Bologna. Funds also cover the first nine ‘smart hubs’—major stations redesigned with co-working lounges, biometric ticket gates and luggage robots aimed at business travellers.
For corporate mobility managers the implications are two-fold. In the short term, weekend engineering possessions will create intermittent disruption and require schedule padding. Over the medium term, journey times between Milan and Venice should fall below two hours by late 2026, while Bari will move within three hours of Rome once the southern line opens. That combination is expected to shift domestic business traffic from air to rail, particularly given forthcoming EU environmental taxes on short-haul flights.
Business travellers and foreign engineers heading to Italy to scope these opportunities will also need to secure the correct travel documentation. VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/italy/) can handle everything from short-stay Schengen visas to work permits, providing fast online processing, document pre-screening and door-to-door courier services—saving valuable time as firms position themselves for FS’s expansion.
FS plans to invest a further €177 billion between 2026 and 2034, with a stated goal of converting 40 percent of conventional lines to ERTMS digital control and doubling freight capacity on the Scandinavian-Mediterranean TEN-T corridor. The group is also expanding its corporate-travel offerings, including subscription passes bundled with meeting-room access in the renovated stations.
Foreign contractors and rolling-stock suppliers have until March 2026 to participate in the next procurement round. Donnarumma said the company will require ‘robust localisation plans’, signalling opportunities for international firms to set up Italian subsidiaries or joint ventures.
