Operator: Trenitalia
Headcode: FR8816/FR9421
Route: RIM-BLQ-ROM
Class: 1st Class – Business
Seat: C1 S5D / C1 S1A
Date: Tuesday 10th January 2023
Having had a couple of nights based in the costal city of Rimini, it was time to continue my journey with an afternoon of travelling. From Rimini a pair of Trenitalia would take me first north to Bologna, before then heading south and west to the Italian capital, Rome.
Both of these journeys were going to be in Trenitalia’s Business Class, so were similar to my journey from Milan to Bologna a couple of days before (read about that here). However, as I waited on the platform at Rimini and saw my first train arriving, I saw the journey would at least be a little different as this would be onboard an older ETR700, one of the units with ta more ‘platypus’ style nose.
These units were originally ordered by NS International for use on NS Direct services, however were returned to the manufacturer following issues with their operation in the low countries. Following rectification works and refurbishments, these are now operated by Trenitalia on services between Milan and Lecce via the Adriatic coast.
We departed Rimini about six or seven minutes late, with Business class being relatively busy. Unlike the trains on my journey to Rimini, these units do not have an ‘Executive class’ and as such Business is the highest product class available onboard. My booked seat was seat 5D in coach 1, which was at a table for 2, however the seat behind was free and so I chose to sat there to give both of us a bit more space. Unfortunately, this was slightly foiled by the bin located in the knee space, but there was still plenty of space.
With these units having been refurbished, the seats are slightly less grand but are still very comfortable and the service is exactly as onboard other services with a choice of drink and snack. There’s also supposed to be Wi-Fi onboard, however I had had a hit and miss experience across Europe in successfully connecting to on train Wi-Fi and unfortunately this was one of the less successful occasions.
We made quick process north towards the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, at speeds of up to 180kmph. Unlike my tip south, the journey back to Bologna didn’t have any intermediate stops and we didn’t slow down until around Castelle Bolognese, where I can only assume we caught up with a slow train in front of us. However, despite this and our late start from Rimini, we recovered all our time and arrived in Bologna one minute early.
Having arrived at the original, above ground station at Rimini, I made my way back down the many levels of stairs and escalators to the newer underground station that hosts Rimini’s high-speed platforms. Whilst waiting here, I saw a number of services being operated by Italy’s open access operator Italo. Italy has embraced high-speed rail and saw Italo not as a competitor to Trenitalia, but as a competitor to domestic flights, so both Italo and Trenitalia have benefitted from investment in the rail network.
Once again onboard an ETR500, I was back in the armchair seats for the trip of a couple of hours to the Italian capital. All these seats have a USB & euro socket, adjustable headrests and can be adjusted electronically. Most of the route to Florence is through tunnels and with me unfortunately once again struggling to connect to the Wi-Fi I decided to spend most of the journey writing.
Whilst my journey was only from Bologna to Rome, my train’s journey had started at Venice’s Santa Lucia station and would run through to Italy’s third largest city, Naples. For my section of the journey, there were just two intermediate stops, Firenze Santa Maria Novella which serves the city of Florence and Roma Tiburtina, a secondary station in the capital.
As mentioned, the journey from Bologna to Firenze Santa Maria Novella was mostly within tunnels and we finally emerged just outside the capital of Tuscany. The tunnels seem to come out in the middle of a railway yard, which the trainspotter in me appreciated and it wasn’t long before we arrived in the terminus station of Santa Maria Novella
With the station being a terminus, services continuing further south reverse here and so there’s a bit of extra time in the schedule, but it wasn’t long before we were continuing our way towards the Italian capital. For this leg of the journey the sun was beginning to set, and the Italian countryside was glowing gorgeous tones of red and orange, so I was glad not to spend it in tunnels.
With this being the final long-distance rail journey of my trip, I was enjoying the scenery and before I knew it we were on the outskirts of Rome. For us the stop at Roma Tiburtina was a secondary stop within the capital, however for some long-distance services this is the only stop, with them then continuing on and avoiding Roma Termini. Our stop was brief, however we still had to encounter the congestion of Termini’s station throat and we unfortunately sat for a while on the curve that connects the two stations.
Arriving into Roma Termini 7 minutes late, overall I was impressed with Trenitalia for both these journeys and those earlier in my trip. The high-speed Frecciarossa services are quick and comfortable and are much less stressful than I expected them to be. So, if you’re heading to Italy, why not jump onboard Trenitalia and explore some more towns and cities whilst you’re there.
Lounge 0*
Seat/Facilities 4*
Food 3*
Service 5*
Punctuality 4*
Overall Rating 16/25 (read about my rating system here!)
Flights & Times 
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