 Italo AGV train at Rome Tiburtina |
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 Italo EVO train at Venice Santa Lucia
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A guide to travel with Italo
NTV (Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori) is a private company which started running its Italo high-speed trains on the Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples route in 2012, in competition with State-owned Trenitalia. They now have a 35% market share on Italy's key high-speed routes. NTV are Europe's first private high-speed train operator, and they've raised standards, grown the market and kept fares low. Recommended!
Which to choose, Italo
or Trenitalia?
Where does Italo run?
Turin -
Milan - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples - Salerno (mainly AGV
trains)
Turin - Milan - Verona - Venice (mainly EVO trains)
Venice - Bologna - Florence - Rome - Naples
(mix of
EVO & AGV trains)
Italo competes with Trenitalia's Frecciarossas on these routes, which operator should you choose?
Italo's 3 classes
Smart (2nd class)
Italo's Smart class (or ambience, as Italo calls their classes) features Poltrona Frau Leather reclining seats, ample legroom, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi. There's a coffee machine & drink/snack vending machine in cars 3 & 7 on an AGV and in cars 3 & 6 on an EVO, but unlike Trenitalia's Frecciarossas there's no cafe-bar car. Seating is mostly unidirectional, although there are two tables-for-four in each carriage. One car (car 11) is the Smart Cinema, with films shown on TV screens suspended from the ceiling. See Italo AGV seat map. See Italo EVO seat map.
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 & free WiFi, Smart is very classy - 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 seats."
Prima (1st class)
Italo's Prima ambience features Poltrona Frau Leather reclining seats with extra legroom & elbow room compared to Smart. There are power sockets at all seats & free WiFi, complimentary coffee, juice, soft drinks and snacks are served from a trolley. Seating is mostly unidirectional, with just one table-for-two and one table-for-four in each carriage. See Italo AGV seat map. See Italo EVO seat map.
When booking at www.italotreno.it, Prima class passengers can usually pay an extra €12 to use the Club Italo Lounges for up to 3 hours before departure at key stations, although this isn't always offered at the busiest times of day or with the cheapest fares. There are Club Italo Lounges at Turin Porta Susa, Milan Centrale, Venice Santa Lucia, Florence SMN, Rome Tiburtina, Rome Termini & Naples Centrale with free coffee, snacks, alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks and free WiFi. There's no Club lounge at Turin Porta Nuova.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "Prima is significantly more spacious than Smart, and there are budget fares in Prima too if you book 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 seats."
Club (premium 1st)
Club ambience consists of an open saloon with 11 seats called Club Executive plus two intimate 4-seat compartments called Club Salotto, ideal for small groups or on-board meetings. Club class has Poltrona Frau Leather reclining seats, loads of legroom & elbowroom, free WiFi, power sockets, complimentary wine or prosecco and snacks served throughout the journey by a steward dedicated to Club class.
Club class passengers can use the Club Italo Lounges for up to 3 hours before departure at Turin Porta Susa, Milan Centrale, Venice Santa Lucia, Florence SMN, Rome Tiburtina, Rome Termini & Naples Centrale with complimentary coffee, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and free WiFi. There's no Italo Club lounge at Turin Porta Nuova. See Italo AGV seat map. See Italo EVO seat map.
The Man in Seat 61 says: "Club Executive is aimed at business travellers and priced accordingly. Service is excellent and the Club section cosy & civilised - if your company is paying or you're in the money, this is the way to go!"
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 11-car AGV trains operate most Italo services on the Turin-Milan-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples-Salerno route, plus one or two departures on the Venice-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples route. AGV stands for Automotrice à Grande Vitesse or high-speed trainset. See Italo AGV seat map.
An Italo AGV train at Rome Termini. Click the seating images below for larger photos.
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. See Italo EVO seat map.
A 250 km/h EVO train at Milan Centrale.
Italo at stations
At major stations Italo has its own ticket office, with self-service ticket machines, a desk for assistance and information, a waiting area. The Italo-branded self-service machines have a touch screen and English-language facility.
You'll find a Italo ticket offices at Milan Centrale, Milan Rogoredo, Bologna Centrale, Florence SMN, Rome Termini, Rome Tiburtina, Naples Centrale, Verona Porta Nuova, Venice Santa Lucia, Salerno, Turin Porta Susa & Turin Porta Nuova. Below left, the Italo office at Naples Centrale.
Club Italo Lounges
If you are travelling Club Executive class, you'll find a Club Lounge at Rome Termini, Rome Tiburtina, Florence SMN, Bologna Centrale, Milan Centrale, Turin Porta Susa & Naples Centrale. The lounge has a reception desk, free WiFi, and complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and snacks.
Prima class passengers can also use the Club lounge if they pay an extra €12, this is often offered when booking, although not always at the busiest times of day or with the cheapest fares.
At Milan Centrale, the Club Italo lounge has a great position, on the first floor overlooking the platforms.
Inside the Italo lounge at Milan Centrale. Courtesy of Chris Ogilvie.
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.
Prima gives you more leg and elbow room plus a small welcome drink. 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 which are the nicest options for solo travellers.
Club class is a treat, but it's aimed at corporate travel so is expensive.
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Forward-facing seats
If you book at www.italotreno.it you can select seats from a seat map. But the seat map won't show which direction seats face.
In any case, a train 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!
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Interrail & Eurail
Interrail and Eurail passes do not cover Italo.
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Luggage
You take all your bags with you onto the train. If you're in Smart ambience, Italo ask you not to bring luggage larger than 75 x 53 x 30 cm, so if you've larger luggage it's best to book Comfort, Prima or Club. In those classes you can take pretty much whatever you like within reason, as long as you can carry it.
Anything up to backpack-sized will fit on the overhead racks above your seat, or you can use the floor-standing racks at the end of each car.
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 about as rare as theft of airline baggage. More about luggage on European trains. Luggage storage at stations.
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Food & drink
There is no cafe-bar car on Italo, only the drink & snack vending machines in cars 3 & 7 on an AGV and in cars 3 & 6 on an EVO, plus the complimentary food & drink offered in Club class and the welcome drink served from a trolley in Prima. You are of course free to bring your own food & drink, even a bottle of wine if you like. There are plenty of retail outlets at stations.
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Power sockets & WiFi
Italo trains have power sockets and free WiFi. The standard power outlet is of the 2-pin rectangular type. The more modern EVO trains may have sockets that take the standard European round 2-pin plug and USB ports, but you can only be 100% sure of plugging in on Italian trains if you have the Italian rectangular 2-pin plug. If you don't have a phone charger or adaptor of this type, you can buy one at station newsagents.
How to buy tickets: www.italotreno.it
Buy tickets direct from Italo at www.italotreno.it and print your own ticket or show it on your phone.
Using www.italotreno.it you can choose your seat from a seat map for a small fee, look for the Choose seat box just before payment.
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 $.
Should you choose Italo or Trenitalia?
On the Turin-Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples route, Venice-Florence-Rome-Naples route and Turin-Milan-Verona-Venice route you can choose between Italo and Trenitalia's Frecciarossas. Which should you choose? Both are excellent, you won't be disappointed whichever you go with. 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.
An Italo AGV with a Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 behind it, at Milan Centrale.