PalenQ

Word has it that with the summer timetable in early June there is a new creature of train running between Milan and Venice - the ES City or EuroStar City train - a crack train that requires a premium charge to use.

any more info on this train, which though a Eurostar is not capable of high-speed running on this non-high-speed line but shaves time by not stopping much or at all i guess.

ellenem

Just tried some morning departures at the Trenitalia site.

ES City
dep 6:55 Milano
arr 9:30 Venezia SL
duration 2:35
1st class 32 euros
2nd class 23 euros
It makes all the expected stops for a faster train--Brescia, Verona, Padova . . . .

ES
dep 7:55 Milano
arr 10:15 Venezia SL
duration 2:20
1st class 37 euros
2nd class 27 euros
Stops: Padova, Venezia Mestre, Venezia SL--2 stops and then you're there.

15 minutes less, 5 euros more.

For me, the convenience of the departure times would be more important than saving 5 euros.

PalenQ

ellen - thanks for that - trenitalia.com i can't get to work on my old computer.

I wonder what the difference is unless in name only?

Sounds like ES City is a lesser train than ES?

altamiro

Possibly new/improved trainsets with extra service for passengers? Like German Rail did with the Metropolitan between Cologne and Hamburg - which flopped.
OeBB is going to try the same soon with its RailJet. I´m pessimistic.

ellenem

For the full comparison, here are slower/cheaper trains during the same time period:

R
dep 7:15 Milano
arr 10:43 Venezia SL
duration 3:28
1st class 20 euros
2nd class 12.90 euros
14 stops before Venezia SL

IC
dep 8:05 Milano
arr 11:09 Venezia SL
duration 3:04
1st class 31.50 euros
2nd class 24.00 euros
8 stops

Funny that the IC costs the same as the ES City and takes 30 minutes more. . .

altamiro

oops, misread the ES vs. ES city prices.

NeoPatrick

Traveling in Italy the past few weeks, I saw lots of posters in train stations touting the "new" Eurostar line from Rome to Milan in 2 hours 10 minutes. Service was just starting this past week -- July 5th or so.

rkkwan

Rome to Milan in 2:10? That cannot be right. All timetables still show 4:30 for the Rome-Florence-Bologna-Milan runs.

Rome to Florence is already pretty high speed, and that alone takes 1:40.

They're building brand new rails from Florence to the north, which will cut travel time by an hour or so. But 2:10 seems impossible to me.

knickerbocker

Seeing as Rome-Milan's about 480 km as the crow flies (not allowing for terrain and such), you sure about your info NP?

NeoPatrick

OK, I know my glasses aren't doing me justice, and I know I can't read most Italian, but please somebody in Italy tell me then what all the posters showing a Eurostar and saying something about Roma - Milano and 2 ore 10 with a specific date the first week of July was saying. Surely it wasn't saying that beginning that day 2 hours 10 minutes was being knocked off the total time? That wouldn't make any sense either. Or is it remotely possible that every time I saw the poster it said 4, not 2, but I thought the 4 looked like a 2?

PalenQ

Whilst i think 2 h 10 minutes must be by plane not train as of the June summer timetables another new train label began running the Milan-Rome route and by not stopping much and not going into deadend stations it's supposed to cut 40 minutes off the previous Milan-Rome rail time

rkkwan

Milan - Rome is still taking 4:30. No change.

Some of the Milan - Rome trains have been rebranded Alta Velocita, because these are Milan - Naples trains, and they now use the highspeed line between Rome and Naples.

There's no change in the frequency and time for Milan - Rome, as far as I can see.

If someone can find a train that takes significantly less than 4:30 between those cities, please post train time and train number.

PalenQ

The info the UK rail mag i read this in, and which though usually right on is not always, says that the Milan-Rome ET ES (newly branded refrubished ES trains it says) do or perhaps will do the route in 4 hours vs 4.5 - by not stopping - perhaps at all.

they also mention the ES AV trains Milan-Naples

So anyone heard of ET ES Milan-Rome trains? Or are they not running yet perhaps?