This time it was Italy! I disembarked on a 12 day long trip, crisscrossing the country from north to south and east to west.
During the end of year holiday period the rush was unbelievable across the
country. I saw tens of thousands of people on the street in Florence, Pisa, Naples
and Rome who were Italian speaking and on a trip to discover their country.
I would like to
recall my experience traveling on one of Italy’s high speed trains called Frecciargento.
Frecciargento is no more the fastest on Italian tracks due to the introduction of Frecciarossa
and the privately operated Italo trains that can clock 350 kmph. However, on a leisurely travel I was quite circumspect in choosing my options.
Planning:
This time my better half was traveling with me - so, I had a company. After spending three exciting days in Rome, we had to proceed to our next destination; Venice. My wife being in Venice for the second time volunteered as my tour guide as I spent more time planning the train journey. This was Europe and nothing could beat a high speed train when it comes for intercity travel. After surfing numerous options I zeroed in on a morning Frecciargento train. By the way, in Italian, Frecciargento means Silver Arrow.
Each ticket cost me 40 Euros. But depending on the day it could be a hundred Euros and even more.
On the day of journey: January 3, 2015
We took a tram to Roma Termini station from our hotel. After
walking past numerous Bangladeshi restaurants, we landed in the main concourse of
Roma Termini at about 7:45 AM.
We planned to catch the 9408 Frecciargento from Roma Termini
to Venezia S. Lucia that leaves Rome at 08:35 AM.
Roma Termini is the central railway terminal that operates
local, regional and long distance trains. This station also has two
metro/subway lines crossing each other under the main station level. There is a
tram platform and a big bus terminal right in front of the station building. A very large book shop adorns the modern building interiors. In
the morning, the station was crowded with travelers. Some of them held huge
backpacks – probably in the middle of a long Eurotrip.
We stopped by a coffee joint and tasted the iconic “cappuccino”
with Italian biscotti. During our days in Italy we invariably fell in love with
the Italian coffee and the way it is served. People usually stop by the coffee
bar to order their choice. It is served in a porcelain cup and saucer.
The clock struck 8:00. Our train was not seen on the display
board. Instead numerous trains from Turin, Milan, Naples, Bari, Salerno etc
were on display. At about 8:10, when we started anticipating a delay, suddenly
our train showed up at the bottom of the screen. Immediately, everyone around
us started running to the platform.
 |
| Picture: Frecciargento display board |
 |
| Picture: Frecciargento 9408 posing with the author at the end of journey:Venezia Santa Lucia |
There it was, the train with a very distinctive sharp face and a swanky looking exterior design waiting for the passengers to board. We were on Coach 5, that was the 5th from rear. Due to an already delayed arrival of the rake, passengers were almost sprinting to reach their respective cars. There were big Chinese and American families. Some of them had heavy baggage to be pushed through the stairs from the low level platform. By the time we reached Coach 5, the car was full. There was a baggage area next to the door which seemed to be full as well. Our seats were in the middle of the car. When we reached, we gladly discovered that we will face each other with a table in the middle. And holy cow! There were two baggage racks between the two seats as well. With everything nicely falling in place, we were seated at 8:30, just about 5 minutes before the train’s departure from the historic terminal of Rome. On a quick search I learned that the WiFi was available on the train for a fee of 1 cent. It was quite fast, much alike the train.
 |
| Picture: Leaving Roma Tiburtina - A blood red Italo train can be seen in right hand side |
The train started on time. A very smooth start and gentle trot through the suburbs of this giant city was immediately followed. We were sitting on the right hand side of the train, hence we could see the opposite tracks next to us. In about 10 minutes we made a brief halt at Roma Tiburtina station. While leaving Tiburtina, we spotted a high speed Italo train waiting for signal. After running through the mainline for some time, it branched out to the dedicated High Speed Corridor.
Note: I must quote one observation here. Though the Italian road traffic follows the central European norm (i.e. traveling through the right side of the road), the Italian trains follow the British norm by channeling the trains through left track on a dual track network.
Note: I must quote one observation here. Though the Italian road traffic follows the central European norm (i.e. traveling through the right side of the road), the Italian trains follow the British norm by channeling the trains through left track on a dual track network.
Soon after, we were running at 250 kmph. It felt really nice from the windows since the scenic beauty of central Italian landscape kept on changing at a faster pace. Beautiful villages, snow capped hills and wayside towns continued to repeat in a relentless fashion. We ran close to the old Trenitalia tracks which the IC and Vivaltos would take. Before and after any significant town or industrial establishments, the high speed tracks were connected with the traditional tracks, making it possible for high-speed trains to branch out and make a halt in those smaller stations.
 |
| Picture: Some snaps from the window while cruising at High Speed through Italian countryside |
 |
| Picture: An Italian Highway; E35 running parallel to the railway track |
Meanwhile, a number of red and maroon high speed trains crossed us at breathtaking speeds. The relative speed would have been 600 kmph. Before one could identify them, they were gone!
In about another hour and fifteen minutes, we were in the suburbs of the beautiful city of Florence. I had fond memories of Florence, that were experienced days ago. This is where our train left the high speed corridor to join the approach tracks to Firenze Santa Maria Novella station. After crossing a number of Vivalto trains, we landed at the designated platform, that had numerous people waiting for our train. It was when a bearded co-passenger and a young Chinese woman alighted. In their pace, came in an American woman with her face hidden behind a Lonely Planet travel guide.
While our train was resting on Florence platform, an Italo train came to the next track and immediately left. Is this due to the fact that these trains are privately operated and enjoy schedule priorities or are they given narrower windows of time? Who knows?
Our train left Florence amidst heavy drizzles at 10:17, about 2 minutes behind schedule and took the high speed tracks towards Bologna. Since Florence S.M.N. is an end-station, all trains coming in and out need to reverse. This is the reason we were now in the left side of the train's movement and lost sight of the opposite track. Between Florence and Bologna Centrale, our train got a number of unscheduled halts and crossed numerous tunnels. It is probably not the most interesting part of our journey since the train did not enjoy a through passage, we did not get to see a lot of sights. As expected, we were behind schedule by a good 20 minutes. After a brief layover outside Bologna Centrale, we were in. Nobody boarded or departed our carriage. We were off Bologna at 11:10.
Here our train took a turn towards North-East and rolled on towards Venice in a gentle speed. There was no high speed corridor between Bologna and Venice, hence our Frecciargento had to restrict itself to speed at around 160 kmph. Here I took a walk towards the cafe car. An elderly lady was at the coffee bar. I ordered two cappuccinos for two Euros each before making my way back to coach 5. The passengers seemed to have settled down as I saw kids playing with their toys and the adults lost in books and newspapers. On LCD displays, TrenItalia showed the location, speed and arrival time of the train. It also showed the departure times of connecting trains leaving from the next few stations, namely Padova, Venezia Mestre and Venezia Santa Lucia.
Pictures: Landscape in Bologna - Padova stretch taken from train
The landscape was different in this part of the country. There were fewer hillocks and more flat green agricultural fields dotted with small farms. The bright Sun and green fields looked awesome. There were hints of snow here and there that were melting in the warmth of daylight. Admiring the rural beauty of Italian plains, we arrived at Padova. Padova seemed to be a junction station with limited activities around. Here the tracks coming from Milan and Verona joined us from the left. A few regional trains were seen on the sidings. I surprisingly spotted a diesel loco hauled regional train. There must be some un-electrified branch lines somewhere around this place. I also spotted a Stadler FLIRT train owned and operated by regional transportation company called Sistemi Territoriali.
Our train stopped at Padova for a good five minutes and took off. Soon after, when it was a quarter past noon, we pulled into Venezia Mestre. Venezia Mestre is not quite one of the islands of Venice. It is the mainland terminal that handles all train traffic to and from Venice Santa Lucia. A lot of travelers prefer Mestre for its proximity to Venice and ease of access by the regional trains. Metre is also significantly inexpensive than Venice downtown or islands like Lido, Murano and Burano for the purpose of night stay. As expected, almost half of the passengers got off the train here. While we were standing, I found a number of trains to and from Venice Santa Lucia on the display board. These regional trains seemingly operated in a good frequency!
After we slowly started from Mestre and picked up speed toward our last and final stop Venezia Santa Lucia, we ran parallel to a canal that connects some industrial establishments with the Adriatic sea. There is a causeway that connects the city of Venice to Venice Mestre with four railway tracks and a six lane highway. Before I could realize, we were on the causeway, crossing over to Venice downtown. This bridge is built of cement and hence there was no noise at all. At our left we could spot the small island called Isola San Secondo. On this short and brisk run over the sea, we also saw passengers preparing to alight. Some of them gathered towards the end of the car where the doors were located. While the train was changing tracks to get to the platform, almost all the seats were empty. "Are you really in that much of a rush guys?" - who knows, they might have to catch a ferry to reach their respective destinations.
Here we come to the final halt at about 12:30, after spending exactly four hours on Frecciargento. The station platform was of normal low level. A Frecciabianca train from Milano Centrale was standing next to us. It was a very bright day with the sun basking in its glory. We walked out of the station building and climbed down the stairs to witness the Grand Canal and the hustle and bustle around Ferrovia ferry terminal. It was one of the very unique places that I would visit in the next three days.
While our train was resting on Florence platform, an Italo train came to the next track and immediately left. Is this due to the fact that these trains are privately operated and enjoy schedule priorities or are they given narrower windows of time? Who knows?
 |
| Picture: entering Firenze S.M.N. limits |
Our train left Florence amidst heavy drizzles at 10:17, about 2 minutes behind schedule and took the high speed tracks towards Bologna. Since Florence S.M.N. is an end-station, all trains coming in and out need to reverse. This is the reason we were now in the left side of the train's movement and lost sight of the opposite track. Between Florence and Bologna Centrale, our train got a number of unscheduled halts and crossed numerous tunnels. It is probably not the most interesting part of our journey since the train did not enjoy a through passage, we did not get to see a lot of sights. As expected, we were behind schedule by a good 20 minutes. After a brief layover outside Bologna Centrale, we were in. Nobody boarded or departed our carriage. We were off Bologna at 11:10.
 |
| Picture: A trackside football stadium near Bologna Centrale station |
Here our train took a turn towards North-East and rolled on towards Venice in a gentle speed. There was no high speed corridor between Bologna and Venice, hence our Frecciargento had to restrict itself to speed at around 160 kmph. Here I took a walk towards the cafe car. An elderly lady was at the coffee bar. I ordered two cappuccinos for two Euros each before making my way back to coach 5. The passengers seemed to have settled down as I saw kids playing with their toys and the adults lost in books and newspapers. On LCD displays, TrenItalia showed the location, speed and arrival time of the train. It also showed the departure times of connecting trains leaving from the next few stations, namely Padova, Venezia Mestre and Venezia Santa Lucia.
Pictures: Landscape in Bologna - Padova stretch taken from train
The landscape was different in this part of the country. There were fewer hillocks and more flat green agricultural fields dotted with small farms. The bright Sun and green fields looked awesome. There were hints of snow here and there that were melting in the warmth of daylight. Admiring the rural beauty of Italian plains, we arrived at Padova. Padova seemed to be a junction station with limited activities around. Here the tracks coming from Milan and Verona joined us from the left. A few regional trains were seen on the sidings. I surprisingly spotted a diesel loco hauled regional train. There must be some un-electrified branch lines somewhere around this place. I also spotted a Stadler FLIRT train owned and operated by regional transportation company called Sistemi Territoriali.
Our train stopped at Padova for a good five minutes and took off. Soon after, when it was a quarter past noon, we pulled into Venezia Mestre. Venezia Mestre is not quite one of the islands of Venice. It is the mainland terminal that handles all train traffic to and from Venice Santa Lucia. A lot of travelers prefer Mestre for its proximity to Venice and ease of access by the regional trains. Metre is also significantly inexpensive than Venice downtown or islands like Lido, Murano and Burano for the purpose of night stay. As expected, almost half of the passengers got off the train here. While we were standing, I found a number of trains to and from Venice Santa Lucia on the display board. These regional trains seemingly operated in a good frequency!
 |
| Photo: Venezia Mestre station |
After we slowly started from Mestre and picked up speed toward our last and final stop Venezia Santa Lucia, we ran parallel to a canal that connects some industrial establishments with the Adriatic sea. There is a causeway that connects the city of Venice to Venice Mestre with four railway tracks and a six lane highway. Before I could realize, we were on the causeway, crossing over to Venice downtown. This bridge is built of cement and hence there was no noise at all. At our left we could spot the small island called Isola San Secondo. On this short and brisk run over the sea, we also saw passengers preparing to alight. Some of them gathered towards the end of the car where the doors were located. While the train was changing tracks to get to the platform, almost all the seats were empty. "Are you really in that much of a rush guys?" - who knows, they might have to catch a ferry to reach their respective destinations.
 |
| Picture: on the causeway |
Here we come to the final halt at about 12:30, after spending exactly four hours on Frecciargento. The station platform was of normal low level. A Frecciabianca train from Milano Centrale was standing next to us. It was a very bright day with the sun basking in its glory. We walked out of the station building and climbed down the stairs to witness the Grand Canal and the hustle and bustle around Ferrovia ferry terminal. It was one of the very unique places that I would visit in the next three days.
 |
Video: Crossing over to Venezia Santa Lucia from Venezia Mestre by train Venice Causeway in Google Map: |
