France, Dec. 30 -- The agreement seeks to "accelerate the growth" of Trenitalia France and "consolidate its presence in France, the United Kingdom and cross-border markets," the partners said in a statement.

Trenitalia France, a passenger subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), plans to expand its fleet to at least 19 trains, as well as to open a maintenance facility outside Paris and offer increased service capacity on existing routes, including Paris to Lyon, from a current nine daily services to 14.

Trenitalia France also intends to compete with Eurostar on the latter's Paris-London route by 2029 and is planning to invest €1 billion in its routes in the UK, as well as France.

FS is scaling up its ambitions at a time when high...