Any readers intending to travel by rail within Italy must note that high-speed operator Italo has suspended most services until December 12 at least.

Railway magazine IRJ reports Italo will be operating only six Naples-Milan-Turin and two Salerno-Rome-Venice trains every day.

This is a significant drop from the 112 daily services Italo would have operated before the pandemic.

The Italian government said it would provide Italo with funds to enable its services to continue.

Should the funds not be received Italo’s president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo says it will be forced to stop.

Meanwhile Germany’s Flixtrain has suspended services for the second time this year reports IRJ.

It had restarted services on July 23 following a four month suspension, but services have once again been suspended during Germany’s lockdown. Unlike national operator Deutsche Bahn, open access Flixtrain can expect no help from the government.

Flixtrain is unlikely to resume services until some time in 2021.

The situation in Germany mirrors that in the UK where open access firms Grand Central and Hull Trains have also suspended services for the second time this year.

Hull Trains suspends services again

It is unclear whether both will resume normal services in early December.

I say that because Grand Central, before the latest lockdown, had already suspended its Bradford-London service because its train ran through a Tier 3 zone.

The same may happen again next month if the government decides on a tiered system to replace today’s lockdown.

italotreno.it, flixtrain.com