 A Frecciarossa 1000 at Milan Centrale
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Italy's premier 300 km/h trains
Trenitalia is Italy's national train operator and their premier train is the Frecciarossa, or red arrow. Some of these can reach 300 km/h (186 mph) on Italy's high-speed lines. Nobody flies between Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome or Naples: Milan to Rome takes as little as 2h55, Rome to Florence 1h23, Rome to Venice 3h45, with a cafe- bar & free WiFi.
Frecciarossa's 4 types of
train
Should you choose Frecciarossa or Italo?
Where do Frecciarossas run?
Turin - Milan - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples - Salerno (Frecciarossa
500 & 1000)
Turin - Milan - Verona - Venice (Frecciarossa 500 & 700)
Venice - Bologna - Florence - Rome (Frecciarossa 500 & 1000, plus a few
600)
Milan - Rimini - Ancona - Bari - Brindisi - Lecce.
Paris - Turin - Milan, see
the Paris-Milan page.
Frecciarossa's 4 classes
Frecciarossa 500s originally had 1st & 2nd class, but when NTV's 3-class Italo trains arrived on the scene, Trenitalia responded by refurbishing its Frecciarossas with 4 classes. The Frecciarossa 1000s also have 4 classes. Which should you choose?
Standard = 2nd class
Seats are arranged 2+2 across the car width, grouped in bays of 4 around a table either side of the aisle. Free WiFi & power sockets at all seats. There's plenty of luggage space on overhead racks which take anything up to backpack-size, space between the seat backs, and racks for larger items at the end of each car. Standard class seats are cloth fabric on Frecciarossa 500, but on Frecciarossa 1000, 700 & 600 they are leather.
Premium = premium 2nd class
Identical seat layout to standard class, with identical leg & elbow room. Seats are arranged 2+2 across the car width in bays of 4 around a table on either side of the aisle. Premium class seats are leather on all types of Frecciarossa. The fare includes a complimentary welcome drink of coffee or soft drink, and there's free WiFi and power sockets at all seats. There's plenty of luggage space on the overhead racks which will take anything up to backpack-size, there's space for bags between the seat backs and luggage racks for larger items at the end of each car. On the Paris-Milan route premium class seats are sold as standard class, without any free coffee or soft drinks.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "It depends on the prices you're offered, but the leather seats and 'welcome' drink make premium a nice upgrade from Standard."
Business = 1st class
Seats are arranged 2+1 across the car width, with significantly more elbow room than standard or premium, and the leather seats are roomier too. There are tables for 4 on one side of the aisle and tables for 2 on the other, the latter ideal for couples. The fare includes a complimentary welcome drink, either coffee, a soft drink or prosecco, there are power sockets at all seats and free WiFi. There is plenty of luggage space on overhead racks which will take anything up to backpack-size, there's space for bags between the seat backs, and there are luggage racks for larger items at the end of each car.
Business Silenzio: One business class car is designated as a 'quiet' car.
Business class Salottinos: A Frecciarossa 500 has two fully-enclosed 4-seat Salottinos, Italian for little rooms. Seats can be booked in these if you are a small group travelling together, ideal for private meetings on the move. Frecciarossa 1000, 700 & 600 don't have salottinos.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "There's no need to travel Business class if you're on a budget, standard & premium classes are absolutely fine and the legroom is exactly the same. But the wider seats, extra elbow room and the ability for couples to choose a table for two, make business class a definite upgrade."
Executive = premium 1st class
Executive class consists of just 8 (Frecciarossa 500) or 10 (Frecciarossa 1000) luxurious leather reclining seats at one end of the train with their own dedicated steward. Free WiFi & power sockets at all seats. The fare includes a complimentary cold tray meal (or snack, on shorter runs) and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The seats rotate, so can be set to face either direction. Executive class also features a 6-seat meeting room. Executive class passengers can use the Frecciaclub first class lounges at all major Italian stations, with free WiFi and complimentary snacks and drinks.
Executive class exists on both Frecciarossa 500 & 1000. However, Frecciarossas operated by ETR700 (ex-Fyra) trains do not have Executive class, many of the Turin-Milan-Verona-Venice Frecciarossas are operated by these trains.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "Executive class is priced for executives. But if you feel like a treat (or your company is paying!), executive class is highly recommended, you won't want to get off. In Business class you sample their prosecco, in Executive they leave you the bottle.."
Frecciarossa's 4 types of train
Frecciarossa services are operated by 4 different types of train, Frecciarossa 1000, Frecciarossa 500, Frecciarossa 600 & Frecciarossa 700.
How to tell which type will operate your train? Look up your train at www.trenitalia.com. This shows a Frecciarossa 1000 logo against services operated by a Frecciarossa 1000. If your train is shown as plain Frecciarossa without a 1000, click to see prices. If executive class is listed, it's a Frecciarossa 500. If there's no executive class, just standard, premium & business, it's either a Frecciarossa 600 or Frecciarossa 700.
Frecciarossa 1000
Introduced in 2015, this is Trenitalia's flagship train, operating at up to 300 km/h (186 mph) with all 4 classes. It operates the most important trains on the Turin - Milan - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples route and Venice - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples route, also operates between Paris, Lyon, Turin & Milan. Like the Frecciarossa 500 it has 4 classes, a cafe-bar, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi. With an interior styled by Pininfarina, it has faster acceleration than the Frecciarossa 500 and a faster top speed of 360 km/h (223 mph) although in service it's limited to 300 km/h (186 mph). Incidentally, it's officially classification is ETR400 even though it's newer than the ETR500. See seat map. Watch the Frecciarossa 1000 video. Virtual tour.
Tip: You can select your seat from a seat map when booking at www.italiarail.com, www.trenitalia.com or www.thetrainline.com.
Frecciarossa 500
Trenitalia's original high-speed train, nudged into second place by the newer Frecciarossa 1000. It runs at up to 300 km/h (186 mph) and also has 4 classes. Operates most of the other services on the main Turin - Milan - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples route and Venice - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples route. See seat map.
Frecciarossa 600
Formerly branded Frecciargento, some of these trains have been refurbished with 3 classes and rebranded Frecciarossa. Operates at up to 250 km/h (155 mph). There's no Executive class on Frecciarossa 600. There's a cafe-bar in car 3. See seat map.
A Frecciarossa 600 at Milan Centrale.
Frecciarossa 700
Look at that cute puppy-dog nose! These ETR700 trains were built in Italy for the ill-fated Fyra services between Amsterdam & Brussels. Returned to Italy in disgrace, they have been repurposed for Frecciarossa services, notably the Turin - Milan - Verona - Venice route, but also Rome-Trieste, and now seem much happier in their home country. They run at up to 250 km/h (155 mph). They have 3 classes, there's no Executive class.
A Frecciarossa 700.
Travel tips
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Which class to choose?
Standard is absolutely fine for most travellers, there's no need to pay more unless you want to.
Premium seats are identical to standard, but with a small welcome drink of coffee or prosecco. You'll have to judge if the extra cost makes that worth it!
Business class gives you more leg and elbow room plus a small welcome drink of coffee or prosecco. Seats in business class are arranged 2+1 across the car width (as opposed to 2+2 in standard & premium) so on one side of the aisle there are solo seats and face-to-face tables for two, which are the nicest options for solo travellers and couples. See Frecciarossa seat maps.
Executive class is a treat, but it's expensive as it's aimed at corporate travel.
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Forward-facing seats
Websites such as www.italiarail.com, www.thetrainline.com & www.trenitalia.com allow you to pick a seat from a seat map on Frecciarossas. But they won't show you which direction seats face as the booking system doesn't know which way round the trainset will enter service.
In any case, a Frecciarossa from Turin to Naples will change direction 3 times during its journey, as Milan Centrale, Florence SMN and Rome Termini are all dead-end termini. Seats that face forwards leaving Turin will face backwards on departure from Milan, then face forwards again leaving Florence, then backwards again leaving Rome. Got it? Good!
For families, face-to-face seats around a table for 4 is the best option, these are available in standard, premium or business class.
For couples travelling in business class, a face-to-face table-for-2 is easily the best option, where you both get a window seat that's also an aisle seat (the best of both worlds) with a full window between you.
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Types of fare
See the Train travel in Italy page for an explanation of Frecciarossa fares including Base, Economy, Super Economy & Speciale Frecce.
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Interrail & Eurail
Passholders must pay a €13 reservation fee, make a seat reservation as shown here.
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Luggage
It's simple, you take all your bags with you onto the train. Nobody measures it, weighs it or argues with you about it. You can take pretty much whatever you like within reason, as long as you can carry it. You simply put it on any suitable luggage rack.
Anything up to backpack-sized will fit on the overhead racks above your seat, or in the recess between the seat backs. If you insist on bringing a giant suitcase, this will fit on the racks at the end of each car, see the photos below.
It's always best to keep your bags where you can see them, although they'll be perfectly safe. Theft of bags from trains is as rare as theft of airline baggage. More information about luggage on European trains. Information about luggage storage at stations.
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Food & drink
You can buy food and drink from the cafe-bar. Or you're free to bring your own picnic and even a bottle of wine if you like.
Business class includes a 'welcome' drink of coffee, juice or prosecco, and a snack. For example a morning snack box contained a small filled roll, an orange juice and a packet of nuts.
Executive class includes a light meal on longer journeys, a snack on shorter journeys, and complimentary alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks.
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Power sockets & WiFi
All Frecciarossas have power sockets and free WiFi. The standard Trenitalia power outlet is of the 2-pin rectangular type shown in the photo below. Some more modern Frecciarossa types also have sockets that take the standard European round 2-pin plug and some may have USB ports, but not all. You can only be sure of being able to plug in on Italian trains if you have the Italian rectangular 2-pin type shown below. If you don't have a phone charger or adaptor of this type, you can buy one at station newsagents.
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Boarding your train
There's no check-in, you just board any time before the doors close and it leaves. Doors may close a minute or two before departure time.
Instead of waiting until your train arrives and running up & down like a headless chicken looking for your car, first look carefully at the main departures board. Frecciarossas have executive and business class at one end, premium in the middle, and standard class at the other end. There's a driving cab at both ends, the train can run either way round. The departures board will usually have a scrolling panel which will say Executive e Business in Coda (at the rear) or Executive e Business in Testa (at the front). That tells you which way round the train is!
Once on the platform, look up! Small indicator screens suspended from the roof tell you where each car will stop along the platform- see the photo below!
Should you choose Frecciarossa or Italo?
On the Turin-Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples route, Venice-Florence-Rome-Naples route and Turin-Milan-Verona-Venice route you can choose between Trenitalia's Frecciarossas and NTV's competing Italo trains. Both are excellent, you won't be disappointed whichever you go with. But here's my personal take...
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Comfort
NTV's Italo is carpeted throughout and has high-quality Poltrona Frau leather seats in all classes. Legroom is excellent.
Trenitalia's 4-class Frecciarossas have hospital-style synthetic flooring in most classes, which as a Brit I have always found less than luxurious. The Frecciarossa has leather seats in Premium, Business & Executive, but only cloth seats in Standard class on the Frecciarossa 500.
However, for me the Frecciarossa wins on seat layout. In Standard & Premium classes seating consists mainly of bays of 4 around a table (ideal for families or groups of friends) and in Business class it consists of tables-for-two (ideal for couples) and tables for four, and all these bays correctly line up with the windows for a great view of the scenery.
Italo's seating is almost all unidirectional which makes it feel more like a bus or plane, and as a result, arguably more cramped. There are a limited number of tables-for-four in Smart and tables-for-two and for four in Prima which you can select when you book, but they don't line up with the windows which affects your view.
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Catering
Italo only has vending machines for coffee & snacks in Smart class and just a trolley with drinks & snacks in Prima, there's no cafe-bar and no hot food. If you like dining on the rails, you may prefer a Frecciarossa as these all have a cafe-bar where you can buy coffee, tea, snacks and light meals. Executive class on the Frecciarossa includes a simple good quality cold tray meal.
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Frequency
Trenitalia operates a slightly more frequent service, but these days there's not a lot in it. Italo usually runs hourly on the main Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples route, not quite as frequent as Trenitalia. However, both trains operate an all-reserved system, so once you've bought a ticket on a specific train frequency is irrelevant as you can only travel on the train you've booked.
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Child age limits are different: Do you have a 2 or 3 year old or a 14 year old?
Do you have a 3 year old? Children under 4 go free on Trenitalia's Frecciarossa (without their own seat), but only children under 3 go free on Italo. Under 14s go at the child rate on Italo, under 15s on Trenitalia - although with the cheapest fares there's no difference between adult and child prices anyway.
Frecciarossa 1000 video
A journey from Milan to Rome in Business Class (1st class) on the new Frecciarossa. Also see the virtual tour.