Thello says “
ciao
” to France.
The subsidiary of the historical operator Trenitalia announced on Friday, June 25 on its website the final shutdown of its two links between France and Italy.
The Paris-Venice night train, launched in 2011 and interrupted since March 2020 because of the health crisis, will not resume.
The Marseille-Nice-Milan daytime link will stop definitively on July 1;
a closure already registered since October 2020.
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The disappearance of Paris-Venice marks the end of night connections between France and Italy.
The two countries remain connected during the day by the TGV Paris-Lyon-Turin-Milan (with a total journey time of 7:30), by the TER Nice-Vintimille and by the regional trains of Trenitalia between Breil-sur-Roya ( Alpes-Maritimes) and Cunéo (Piedmont).
If there are no more international night connections to date, this gap will be filled next December with the launch of the Paris-Vienna line, operated by the Nightjet of the Austrian railways (ÖBB).
Read also: Night trains: the new lines to take in Europe from this year
"Hotels on rails" between Paris and Venice by 2024
At a time of the revival of night trains in France and Europe, Thello's decision is surprising. The company leaves a vacant place to the many actors who wish to develop this mode of transport, in particular for ecological reasons and to compete the plane. The French company Midnight Trains, recently created by Adrien Aumont, co-founder of KissKissBankBank, plans to run luxury “hotels on rails” in Europe in the coming years. Among the planned connections are a Paris-Rome via Florence ... and a Paris-Venice. But we will have to wait at least until 2024 before being able to enjoy a new awakening on the Venetian lagoon.
If Thello ends its activities, the company does not intend to leave the French market. "
Thello is ready to face new projects and new challenges in France,
" she says on her site. The carrier wants to take advantage of the opening up to competition of rail to launch its TGV between Paris and Milan via Lyon, a link disputed by other European operators such as the Spanish Renfe. But the project initially expected for June 2020 has stalled since the start of the health crisis.
