ABOVE: By the time the boy in this photo is a teenager, you may be able to take a train from Venice's Marco Polo Airport to the Venezia Santa Lucia Railroad Station.

A trade publication, Railway Gazette, has just announced that Italy's rail network, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, and SAVE (the management company for Venice's Marco Polo Airport) are planning a new airport rail link from VCE to the Venezia Mestre and Venezia Santa Lucia railroad stations.

The link also will provide rail service to Trieste, approximately 116 km or 72 miles northeast of Venice.

The project, which will cost an estimated 450 million euros, involves laying a new stretch of track from the existing Venice-Trieste line, with a new tunnel connecting to an underground station at Marco Polo Airport.

Assuming that financing falls into place and there are no significant project delays, service could begin by 2024.

In the meantime, you can reach Venice from Marco Polo Airport by airport bus, airport boat, or water taxi. (If you're staying on the mainland, a Mestre airport bus or a land taxi will take you into town.)

For more information, see the Railway Gazette news story.