To unite, with the high-speed rail, a country that travels at two speeds. This is the challenge that Trenitalia launches by presenting the winter timetables and a whole series of innovations arriving in 2020: the goal is to connect the South of the country ever better (even if most of the innovations concern the North), focusing on intermodality, sustainability and digitalisation. With an eye, in view of the upcoming Christmas holidays, to the connections with the ski resorts. The expansion of tourist destinations, reached by regional trains or FrecciaLink buses, has already led to a 2019% increase in passengers in 5 and for this season, from 21 December to 29 March, connections with 9 important winter tourist resorts are confirmed, from Courmayeur to Madonna di Campiglio, from Val di Fiemme to Val Gardena.
MORE CONNECTIONS
The general winter timetable, on the other hand, starts on 15 December and includes a series of new features, especially in the North: the fleet of 297 Frecce, 32 Eurocity, 108 Intercity, 8 Euronight and 20 Freccialink trains will be upgraded with 200 new stops, which will connect 280 locations in Italy and abroad. The North, above all: the high-speed line between Rome and Venice is strengthened, with more stops in Ferrara and Rovigo; there are over 100 journeys between Rome and Milan (but this is nothing new) and those between Milan and Venice rise to 48; to go to Trento and Bolzano from Milan it will no longer be mandatory to change in Verona (the time to reach Trento from the Lombard capital therefore drops from about 3h30 to 2h26). Also the novelty of the late evening trips, to allow travelers to leave after dinner, extending the weekend or the working day (as in particular for those traveling for work and during the day), initially concerns only the Turin-Milan-Bologna axis .
However, there are also important news for the South: the 10 Frecciargento Rome-Bari connections have been confirmed, with the addition of two trips a week which continue towards Lecce, with the only intermediate stop in Bari. More speed and comfort also on the Adriatic line , with 14 Frecciarossa trains per day, which from June will become 22: the trains on the Milan-Lecce axis will be equipped with WiFi Fast and will take an average of 30 minutes less (Milan-Pescara, for example, will go to 4h39). In addition, the first direct Venice-Reggio Calabria connection is arriving, but there is still no precise date, with no changes, with two Frecciargento trains a day.
SUSTAINABILITY'
By presenting the new winter timetable, Trenitalia has also launched the first serious plastic reduction project. Precisely in the weeks in which the plastic tax is being discussed, the FS group company sends a clear signal: starting from 2020, plastic will no longer be used on board trains. In one year, savings of 14,5 million bottles of water, 12 million glasses and 2 million spoons are expected. Everything will be replaced with paper or recycled products, for an estimated saving of CO2 emitted starting from February on 600 tons per year.
TICKETLESS
Another big news is the possibility to pay by credit card or smartphone directly on the validation machines positioned on the tracks. The system is similar to the one already used for 18 months in the Milan subway: placing the contactless card (or smartphone) on the device in the departure station and then in the arrival station, the system calculates and charges itself the cost of the trip, automatically applying the best rate. In the sense that if in a week that section is repeated several times, so as to make a subscription-type formula convenient ex post, the cost of the subscription will be charged directly to the card. The news only applies to regionals.
10 YEARS HIGH SPEED
Speaking of season tickets, to celebrate 10 years of high speed Trenitalia also offers the celebratory booklet. Travelers have the option of purchasing a 10-journey package with a 30% discount and double CartaFreccia points. Traveling between Rome and Milan, for example, the cost of the carnet is 665 euros instead of 950 euros, thus saving 285 euros. Between Milan and Naples, savings rise to 309 euros (721 euros instead of 1.030).
TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
Important innovations also in terms of service quality. The famous "Silence Area", never fully taken off also due to the rudeness of travelers (immoderate use of mobile phones in primis), but necessary to guarantee - for those who need it - an adequate level of comfort and civility, will now be much more protected and also enhanced. There will be 13.000 seats a day in the Silence Area, 12% of the total seats sold, and the service will be improved with the supply of free earphones, a double welcome drink, sleeping masks for those who even want to sleep, and a library available at border, for those who prefer to read and have forgotten the book at home. The customer assistance itself is enhanced: from January 2020 the real-time service via WhatsApp has been tested, active 7 days a week.
