Review: Trenitalia Frecciarossa- Italian High Speed Train (Rome-Naples) [Business & Standard Class]
I’ve always been intrigued by the city of Pompeii that was engulfed in ashes after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius back in 79 AD and ends up preserving details of ancient Roman life that we can see today. It was great to finally be able to visit it. To get there from Rome, I’d need to take a train to Naples and then take regional trains from there to get to Pompeii.
With Italy’s high speed train Frecciarossa, the journey from Rome to Naples take about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
How to Buy Trenitalia Frecciarossa Tickets
Every major train stations in Italy will have self-service ticket machines. Alternatively, they can be bought online but is unnecessary. Credit cards are accepted in the ticket machines with the exception of American Express from my experience. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of what the machines look like, but they’re big red boxes that are hard to miss.
After buying your ticket, you can refer to the train schedules spread across the station with the ticket number you have and then get on the designated platform.
The train’s exterior looks gorgeous akin to a race car. The colors scream speed, which the Frecciarossa represent with max speed of 300 km/hr.
Frecciarossa Business Class
For the inbound journey in the morning, we chose Business Class seats. They’re the second highest class next to the top-tier Executive Class. Costs of Frecciarossa will vary depending on the time of day you board the train, but the Business Class will cost nearly double the Standard Class, the lowest class of the train.
The seats are wide with plush tan leather seats.
Their arm rests are movable.
Underneath the seats have Type C and USB-A outlets to charge your electronics.
Table has a sleek wooden finish that can be extended.
Next to the table is the trash compartment.
One pro of a train ride is the opportunity to look at Italian countryside, but the path the train took passed through a lot of tunnels. Connections can be iffy due to that.
Eventually, we were treated to some snacks and coffee that were complimentary. Great way to start the day.
Business Class lavatory is quite spacious with button controls to open/lock the door. Outer circle of the buttons will show as red when occupied.
Bassinet is next to the toilet for parents with babies.
Passenger info displays are all over the top of the cabins that show how fast the train’s going and the ETA of the time of arrival to the upcoming stations.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed this train ride inside the Frecciarossa.
Freciarossa Standard Class
After finishing our day trip to Pompeii and trying out pizza margherita in Naples, we headed back to Rome in the afternoon. This time, we’d try the economy class, or the Standard Class.
The seats themselves are smaller and harder than the ones in Business Class. But, I think they’re fine enough in this hour and a half journey.
Other than that, not much difference. Not much difference in the tables except that there’s no trash compartments next to them. They’re placed under the window instead.
Standard Class lavatory is smaller than the one in Business Class.
Conclusion
Frecciarossa trains are great to ride in to go from town to town in Italy as they’re the fastest passenger train available and the stations are centrally located within the cities. While the Business Class seat was nicer, I felt that the Standard Class seat was good enough, and I’d still be content in it on longer trips. But, since I won’t be in Italy often, it was worth experiencing the more luxurious option for once.
