14:54 CET
Italy s state-run railways will operate Covid-free high-speed trains on the Rome-Milan route starting next month, its chief executive said Monday.
Gianfranco Battisti hailed the initiative as a way of reviving travel after more than a year of coronavirus curbs.
“We will introduce a Covid-free train in early April … initially between Rome and Milan,” Battisti said during an event at Rome’s main train station.
It will be a European first, according to his company,
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Italy’s state railway operator, which runs Trenitalia and the Frecce high-speed trains).
All staff and passengers will be tested for coronavirus before boarding “with the help of the Red Cross”, he said.