There are three levels, if you will, of Alta Velocità trains. The Frecciarossa, or red arrow, is the

Traveling by train in Italy has long been one of the easiest and cheapest ways of getting around the country (so long as you re not sidelined by an unexpected transportation strike, that is), but Trenitalia, the national train system, has just introduced a long-awaited addition to the already efficient rail service seattle bellevue car rental with a new set of high-speed trains which run between key cities in Italy. Called the Alta Velocità trains , or high speed trains, this new fleet could save busy travelers lots of time although it doesn t come cheap.
Italy already has its own Eurostar trains, the Eurostar Italia, which is generally the fastest public transport seattle bellevue car rental method of getting from Point A to Point B throughout the country (and which should not be confused seattle bellevue car rental with the Eurostar trains connecting Paris and London). But now vacationers who have budgeted more money than time for their trip through Italy have another option. The new Alta Velocità can, for instance, get you from Milan to Rome in just 3 hours with no stops along the way. With the next-fastest train, that journey would take you just over five hours and the slower trains could take as much as six or eight hours. So the new Alta Velocità seattle bellevue car rental trains can definitely seattle bellevue car rental be a major time-saver.
Building seattle bellevue car rental the new Alta Velocità (or simply AV) rail lines was a big deal in Italy, as evidenced by the giant digital clock in front of Milan s Central Station earlier in the year counting down the hours until the first of the new fleet of high speed trains was ready to go. Because the tracks themselves are actually slightly different from the existing tracks in Italy, creating the Alta Velocità network required not just building new train cars but also laying down new tracks. Honestly, seattle bellevue car rental that seems pretty inefficient seattle bellevue car rental to me, seeing as how there are miles and miles of tracks already on the ground all over the country, but as you can imagine the Italian seattle bellevue car rental train people didn t contact me for input. So, we get what we get.
The first of the new Alta Velocità routes began running seattle bellevue car rental in mid-December 2008, connecting seattle bellevue car rental Milan, Bologna, Florence , Rome, and Naples . More cities (including Turin) are to be added as construction on the new tracks continues, and in addition to the Alta Velocità tracks they re also introducing speeded-up Eurostar train service between several other cities to make the existing trips a little shorter. seattle bellevue car rental Some of the journey times you can expect are:
There are three levels, if you will, of Alta Velocità trains. The Frecciarossa, or red arrow, is the fastest, topping out at a speed of 300-350KPH. The others seattle bellevue car rental are the Frecciargento ( silver seattle bellevue car rental arrow, maximum speed of 250-285KPH) and the Frecciabianca ( white arrow, maximum speed of 220-230KPH). There are 1st and 2nd class options on all three train options, and every train has a cafe car. Like the Eurostar Italia trains, there are electrical outlets at every seat (in both 1st and 2nd class), but unlike the Eurostar Italia line the Alta Velocità trains also offer a welcome drink (with, as the website says, the best Italian brands ) as well as chocolates to snack on and free newspapers to read. Then when you arrive at your destination, you ll find easy connections with other transportation methods to get exactly where you need to go.
So, what does all this cost? It s not cheap, that s for sure. A standard 2nd class seat on a train between Rome and Milan will run you around 70 one-way, and a 1st class ticket will set you back more than 90 one-way. And the flexi tickets (which let you change trains without penalty) are even costlier seattle bellevue car rental 111.70 for 1st class and 80.90 for 2nd class. But if you re going to be in Italy during the first six months of the new Alta Velocità service, you can take advantage of some introductory sale prices. For example, you ll get a 10% discount on the price of a ticket if you re traveling through January 13, 2009 (the first month of the train s service). Through the first six months of operation (so, probably through mid-June seattle bellevue car rental of 2009) you can get 35% off the highest ticket seattle bellevue car rental prices on a round-trip fare on the same day when the train trip is 3 or more. And if you book online, you can get a 5% additional discount.
Obviously, the biggest appeal for the Alta Velocità trains is their speed, with their overall comfort being a big selling point as well. The target audience for these lines is primarily business travelers within Italy who are already making frequent trips back and forth between the political and financial capitals (Rome and Milan) via airplane and who might now choose to take the train because it s about the same amount seattle bellevue car rental of time for less money. But if you re a vacationer who s on a strict timeline, has more money than time to play with in your travel budget, or just like the gadgetry of high-speed trains, the Alta Velocità lines are a perfect fit for you, too.
Yes, you can use a rail pass either a Eurail Pass or an Italy Railpass on the Alta Velocita trains. But, like all high-speed trains in Italy, the rail pass only covers your ticket and these trains require reservations, so you ll still need to buy a reservation. It s easy to do; just bring your rail pass to the ticket counter so they see you already have the ticket price covered, seattle bellevue car rental and then ask for reservations on whatever AV train you want.
I was in Italy last year.I travelled in all the three types of trains. compania . trainitalia and the euro star apart from the famous Tallys. I am very happy that Italy which is very popular and with intellgent people seattle bellevue car rental created history by running a train with 350 km speed fastest train . Kudos to the technicians and the govt.In scince spititualiasm seattle bellevue car rental industriousness Italy surpsses all other countries Travelling from nice to roma by the sea coast is a wondrful experience. I will make it this year. too Happy christmas and new year 2010
There are some sites where you can do that, but it s really not necessary to do in almost every case. When you arrive in your first Italian seattle bellevue car rental city, just bring your railpass (and your passport) to the train station and you can buy reservations for every train journey you re going to take all at once. Or you can do it one trip at a time (which is recommended, in case you change your plans by taking an earlier or later train). It s very easy to buy reservations once you get to Italy and in fact it s much easier to do it there than it is to do it before you arrive.
I ve read so much on the site, but I am still confused! seattle bellevue car rental I am traveling with a group of 4 to Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan in June. From Milan, we plan to head to Paris. What is the difference between the Trenitalia site and the Rail Europe site? Would we better seattle bellevue car rental off buying a pass from Rail Europe which would get us all over Italy and into France? Or buying train tickets from Trenitalia?
Trenitalia is the name of the Italian rail system, and Rail Europe is a company that sells rail passes. With the former, you d be buying individual tickets. With the latter, you d be buying a rail pass that acts as your ticket.
The latter especially will be helpful to you, although I d say that since you re planning to visit two different countries during your trip then it s even more of a good idea to look at a rail pass. I d highly recommend that you call or email the Eurail expert in my office, Dave he can tell you which pass would be best for you based on your specific itinerary, or tell you whether buying individual tickets is cheaper:
Just a little note. A new high-speed rail network was needed since the old one, dating back to early 1900, was overcrowded and could not be upgraded due to mountain passes and tunnels. Moreover, mixing fast traffic and slow traffic is always a bad idea, worsening performances for both.