 An Italo AGV train at Rome Tiburtina station... |
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 An Italo EVO train at Venice Santa Lucia...
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A quick guide to travelling with Italo...
NTV (Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori) is a private company which started operating Italo high-speed trains on the Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples route in April 2012, in competition with State-owned Trenitalia. NTV later added a Venice-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples route and extended services to Turin & Salerno in 2013. They added a Turin-Milan-Verona-Venice route in 2017, and they now have a 35% market share on these key high-speed rail routes. NTV are Europe's first private high-speed train operator, and they've grown the market, raised standards and kept prices low. Highly recommended...
Which should you choose, Italo
or Trenitalia?
Where does Italo run?
Turin -
Milan - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples - Salerno using Italo's AGV
trains
Turin - Milan - Verona - Venice using
Italo's EVO trains
Venice - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples Mostly using
EVO trains, some AGV trains.
There's a choice of two competing high-speed train operators on these routes, Italo with its AGV & EVO trains, or Trenitalia with it's Frecciarossas & Frecciargentos. This page helps you choose which to take!
How to buy tickets: www.italotreno.it
You can buy Italo tickets direct from Italo at www.italotreno.it and print your own ticket. The choice between cheap advance-purchase fares with no refunds or changes and the full-flex fare is clearly shown for each class.
Using www.italotreno.it you can choose your exact seat from a seating plan for a €4 fee, look for the Choose seat box just before the payment stage.
www.raileurope.com & www.thetrainline.com also sell Italo tickets with a small booking fee. The advantage is that they sell tickets for other European train operators including Trenitalia, so you can compare prices and buy tickets for multiple operators all in one place, in €, £ or $.
Italo's classes explained
Italo has 3 classes, this section explains the features in each class. The photos show Italo's original AGV trains, you can see photos of each class on Italo's latest EVO trains in the Italo's two types of train section. In all classes, luggage simply goes on the racks above your seat or at the end of the car near the entrance doors.
Smart = 2nd class
Italo's Smart ambience features Poltrona Frau Leather reclining seats, air-conditioned, ample legroom, free WiFi, power sockets for laptops, cameras or mobiles. There's a coffee machine & drink/snack vending machine in cars 3 & 7 on an AGV, cars 3 & 6 on an EVO, but no bar car as such. Seating is mostly unidirectional, although there are two tables-for-four in each carriage. One carriage (car 11) is the Smart Cinema, with films shown on TV screens suspended from the ceiling. See Italo seating plan.
Italo ask you not to bring luggage larger than 75 x 53 x 30 cm if you use Smart ambience, so if you've larger luggage it's best to book Comfort, Prima or Club.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "A bright interior, leather seats, loads of legroom and with power sockets for laptops, mobiles or cameras, Smart is very classy indeed - but with budget fares. The tables-for-four are ideal for families or small groups, you can select this when booking at www.italotreno.it by clicking the link to choose your exact seats."
Prima = 1st class
Italo's Prima ambience features Poltrona Frau Leather reclining seats and air-conditioning with extra legroom & elbowroom compared to Smart class. There's free WiFi, power sockets for laptops, cameras or mobiles, complimentary coffee, juice, soft drinks and snacks served from a trolley. Seating is mostly unidirectional, with just one table-for-two and one table-for-four in each carriage.
Tip: When booking at www.italotreno.it, Prima class passengers can usually pay an extra €10 to use the Club Italo Lounges for up to 3 hours before departure at key stations, although this isn't always offered with the cheapest fares or at the busiest times of day. There are Club Italo Lounges at Turin Porta Susa, Milan Centrale, Florence SMN, Rome Tiburtina, Rome Termini & Naples Centrale with free coffee & soft drinks and free WiFi at the rear of the Casa Italo. At the time I wrote this there's no Club lounge at Venice or Turin Porta Nuova. Add lounge access to your ticket when you book at www.italotreno.it. See Italo seating plan.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "Prima is significantly more spacious than Smart, and there are budget fares in Prima too if you book well in advance - if you're a couple, I recommend selecting the table for two when booking at www.italotreno.it by clicking the link and paying the small fee to choose your exact seats."
Club Executive = premium 1st
Club Executive class consists of an open saloon with 11 seats (pictured below left on an AGV train) and two intimate compartments of 4 seats called salottinos (pictured below right on an AGV train), ideal for small groups or on-board meetings. Club class has Poltrona Frau Leather reclining seats, loads of legroom & elbowroom, free WiFi, power sockets for laptops, cameras or mobiles, complimentary wine or prosecco and snacks served throughout the journey by a steward dedicated wholly to the small Club section. Each seat also has a small fold-out 9" LCD touch-screen television. Club Executive class passengers can use the Club Italo Lounges for up to 3 hours before departure at Turin Porta Susa, Milan Centrale, Florence SMN, Rome Tiburtina, Rome Termini & Naples Centrale with free coffee & soft drinks and free WiFi at the rear of the Casa Italo. At the time I wrote this there's no Club lounge at Venice or Turin Porta Nuova. See Italo seating plan.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "Club Executive is aimed at top-end business travellers and priced accordingly. Service is excellent and the Club section cosy & civilised - if your company is paying or you have the money, this is the way to go!"
Food & drink on Italo
There's no bar or restaurant car, but passengers can use the Illy coffee machine and vending machine in cars 3 & 7 on an AGV, cars 3 & 6 on an EVO. You're free to bring your own food & drink on board...
A new concept at stations: Casa Italo
Casa Italo: At major stations served by Italo there is a Casa Italo, with self-service ticket sales machines, lots of Italo staff on hand, a welcome desk for assistance and information, a waiting area with seats, sofas, information screens and free WiFi (ask at the desk). There's no old-fashioned ticket office, tickets are bought from the Italo-branded self-service machines, which have a huge touch screen and an English-language facility. They are simplicity itself to use, even my six year old can work them!
You'll find a Casa Italo at Milan Centrale, Milan Rogoredo, Bologna Centrale, Florence SMN, Rome Termini, Rome Tiburtina, Naples Centrale, Verona PN, Venice Santa Lucia, Salerno, Turin Porta Susa & Turin Porta Nuova.
Club Italo Lounge... If you are travelling Club Executive class, you'll find a Club Lounge inside the Casa Italo at Rome Termini, Rome Tiburtina, Florence SMN, Milan Centrale, Turin Porta Susa & Naples Centrale. Prima class passengers can also use the Club lounge if they pay an extra €10, this is offered when booking, although not always with the cheapest fares or at the busiest times of day.
Italo's two types of train
Italo operates two train types, AGV & EVO, both with similar classes & facilities. To find out which type will operate which train, run an enquiry at www.italotreno.it and look at the search results. If you hover over the 'i' information symbol it will show you whether that train is an AGV or EVO.
AGV trains
Italo's original 300 km/h articulated AGV trains were delivered in 2011-2012, they operate on the Turin-Milan-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples-Salerno route. They also operate one or two departures on the Venice-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples route. Italo has 25 AGV trainsets, each with 11 cars. AGV = Automotrice à Grande Vitesse = high-speed trainset.
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EVO trains
Italo's 250 km/h EVO trains were delivered in 2017-2018, Italo has 17 trainsets each with 7 cars which operate services on the Turin-Milan-Verona-Venice route and most services on Italo's Venice-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples route.
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A 250 km/h EVO train at Venice Santa Lucia. |
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Smart (2nd class) on an Italo EVO train. Larger photo. |
Comfort / Prima (1st class) on an EVO. Larger photo. |
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Club Executive class (= premium 1st class) on an EVO train. There is a small 8-seat open-plan area and several 4-seat salottinos. The photo above right shows a 4-seat salottino in the foreground with the small 8-seat open-plan area visible on the right of the photo, with the glass door through to Prima class. Larger photo. |
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An EVO train at Milan Centrale, about to leave for Venice... |
Video guide: A journey by Italo
Should you choose Italo or Trenitalia?
Trenitalia have fitted out their Frecciarossa (red arrow) high-speed trains with 4 classes and leather seats to compete with NTV's 3 or 4-class Italo trains on the premier Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples & Venice-Florence-Rome-Naples routes. Journey time is similar, pricing is competitive, so which should you choose? Both are excellent trains, this is my personal take...
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Comfort
NTV's Italo is arguably the newer, brighter and more stylish train. It's carpeted throughout and has top-quality Poltrona Frau leather seats in all classes. Legroom is excellent.
Bizarrely, Trenitalia's 4-class Frecciarossas (both the Frecciarossa 500 and the latest Frecciarossa 1000) have hospital-style synthetic flooring in most classes, lacking carpet even in Executive class on the 500 - only Executive class on the 1000 has carpet. The Frecciarossa has leather seats in Premium, Business & Executive, but only cloth seats in Standard at least in the Frecciarossa 500.
However, a plus for the Frecciarossa is the seat layout, as in Standard, Premium and Business classes seating consists mainly of bays of 4 seats around a table (ideal for families or groups of friends) and (in Business class) bays of two seats facing each other across a table (ideal for couples), all of which line up correctly with the windows.
Italo mainly features unidirectional seating, although there are a limited number of tables-for-four in Smart and tables-for-two and tables-for-four in Prima, which you can select when you book, if they're not already taken.
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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 restaurant or cafe-bar car and no hot food. If you like dining on the rails, you may prefer the Frecciarossa as all Frecciarossas have a staffed cafe-bar where you can buy coffee, tea & snacks and in Business class you can order simple tray meals served at your seat. Executive class on the Frecciarossa features a simple high-quality cold tray meal included in the price.
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Frequency
Trenitalia generally operates the more frequent service, running trains half-hourly at peak times between Milan, Florence and Rome. 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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Convenience of the stations
There's now little to choose between Italo & Trenitalia as far as convenience of stations is concerned. When Italo first started, their trains only served Rome Tiburtina which is a €10 taxi ride from central Rome. However, these days most though not all Italos use Roma Termini in the city centre, just as Trenitalia does. You can walk from Rome Termini to most of the city sights and to many central hotels. In Milan, Italo initially used the less important Milan Porta Garibaldi but since 2016 most Italos use Milan Centrale as Trenitalia does. At other stations such as Bologna, Florence, Naples and Venice, Italo and Frecciarossa have always shared the same centrally-located stations. Map of Milan showing stations. Map of Rome showing stations. Map of Florence showing stations.
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Child age limits are different. Do you have a 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 - but this may makes little difference as with the cheapest fares adult and child rates are the same anyway.