Italo to run high speed trains in Germany

Stuttgarter Zeitung had the story this week that Italian private high speed rail operator Italo is to enter the German rail market, and will likely buy 25-30 Velaro trains from Siemens to do this. There are a whole slew of hurdles Italo would have to overcome before they can launch, and the big question in my mind - given the capacity and reliability issues in German rail - is where they could realistically run. But they are serious, plenty of people have spoken to me about their plans, and I think this one is going to happen - although for now I cannot put a date on it.