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Milano / Milan / Mailand to Roma / Rome by train
How to travel from Milan to Rome by train
A sequence of two high speed railways enables high speed trains to rush from Milano to Rome/Roma.
This high speed route is shared by 'Frecce' services operated by the national rail operator, Trenitalia, and competing Italo services.
For those who favor cheapest price over journey time, there is also the opportunity to save money by taking the much slower Intercity trains which still snake their way along the older 'classic' railway lines.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Journey Summary
2hr 55min - 3hr 20min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Napoli or Salerno or Reggio de Calabria or others
**Departing from Milano
Some of these trains, particularly the slower services, also call at: Milano Rogoredo
Depending on where you'll be setting off from in Milano, taking the trains from this station can be time saver.
Milano Centrale is on the northern edge of the city centre, so these trains initially head north and then make their way around the city, so that they can take the route south towards Napoli.
Milano Rogoredo station is on Line M3 of the Milano Metro, though the same line also links the heart of the city to Milano Centrale station.
But if you'll be boarding a Metro train at Duomo station, which lives up to its name with a location by Milano cathedral, you'll be heading north to board these trains at Milano Centrale, so the end-to-end journey can be quicker if you head towards Milano Rogoredo.
Local trains head to Milano Rogoredo from multiple stations in the city centre, including Milano Porta Venezia and Milano Porta Vittoria.
Arriving in Roma
Some of these trains also call at Roma Tiburtina station.
Roma Tiburtina is linked to the city centre by line B of the Rome Metro.
This line also calls at Roma Termini station, but if your final destination in the city is convenient to a location with a station on Line B, there's a good chance you'll be there faster if you make the connection at Tiburtina instead of Termini.
Mon-Fri = 30 trains per day
Saturday = 25 x trains
Sunday = 30 x trains
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date - usually
The high speed (AV) train service between Milano Centrale and Roma/Roma is provided by
(1) these Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia and
(2) alternative Italo trains
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Rail Pass Users:
If you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you will need to reserve prior to boarding these trains, either at the station (using a Trenitalia ticket machine or ticket desk) OR by booking them online.
How to book the rail pass reservations online is included on our guide to using rail passes in Italy.
If you will be travelling with a rail pass, it's worth targeting the faster trains, as the reservation fees are the same regardless of which Frecce service you travel by.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trenitalia | from €29.90 | |
| Italiarail | from €29.90 | |
| Omio | from €29.90 | |
| SaveATrain | from €29.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
When looking up this journey it's worth paying attention to the journey times as there are in effect three different service patterns used by these 'Frecce' trains.
- Fastest are the non-stop trains (there are fewer of these fast trains on Saturdays).
- Some of the trains on that more direct route are 5 -10 mins slower because they make additional station calls.
- Slowest of all are the trains which divert off the direct route to call in Firenze/Florence, where they also reverse direction.
This diversion to the main station in Florence/Firenze adds around 10-15 mins to the journey time, but most of the trains which also call in Firenze, make up to four other station calls, hence they're up to 30 mins slower than the fastest trains.
The Frecciarossa 100 trains are more likely to be used on the faster services, but when you look up the journey on Trenitalia or ItaliaRail, you'll be able to see which specific type of train will be used on each departure.
This is a journey of three contrasting parts.
(1) Between Milano and Bologna the trains are at their fastest as on this stretch of high speed line they travel up to 290 km/h- which is fortunate as there's nothing much to see.
(2) Between Bologna and Firenze the train are travelling at high speed, but 99% of the journey is in tunnels
(3) The high speed line between Firenze and Roma isn't quite as fast as that between Milano and Bologna, but as the trains travel at up to 250 km/h pleasing distant views of hills can be seen from either side of the train.
Much of this part of the route is elevated on viaducts, and the video, was taken from one of these.
Option 2: taking the Italo high speed trains
Journey Summary
3hr 10min - 3hr 40min approx
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Napoli or Salerno or Reggio de Calabria or others
**Departing from Milano
Most of these trains, particularly the slower services, also call at: Milano Rogoredo
Depending on where you'll be setting off from in Milano, taking the trains from this station can be time saver.
Milano Centrale is on the northern edge of the city centre, so these trains initially head north and then make their way around the city, so that they can take the route south towards Napoli.
Milano Rogoredo station is on Line M3 of the Milano Metro, though the same line also links the heart of the city to Milano Centrale station.
But if you'll be boarding a Metro train at Duomo station, which lives up to its name with a location by Milano cathedral, you'll be heading north to board these trains at Milano Centrale, so the end-to-end journey can be quicker if you head towards Milano Rogoredo.
Local trains head to Milano Rogoredo from multiple stations in the city centre, including Milano Porta Venezia and Milano Porta Vittoria.
Arriving in Roma
Most of these trains also call at Roma Tiburtina station.
Roma Tiburtina is linked to the city centre by line B of the Rome Metro.
This line also calls at Roma Termini station, but if your final destination in the city is convenient to a location with a station on Line B, there's a good chance you'll be there faster if you make the connection at Tiburtina instead of Termini.
21 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 5 months ahead of the travel date
The high speed (AV) train service between Milano Centrale* and Roma is provided by:
(1) these Italo trains
(2) alternative Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
However, Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Eurail and InterRail passes can't be used on Italo trains.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Italo | from €29 approx | |
| Trainline | from €29 approx | |
| Happyrail | from €29 approx | |
| Omio | from €29 approx |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
When looking up this journey it's worth paying attention to the journey times as there are in effect two different service patterns used by these Italo trains.
- Fastest are the trains which only make a station call at Milano Rogoredo
- Slowest of all are the trains which divert off the direct route to call in Firenze/Florence, where they also reverse direction.
This diversion to the main station in Florence/Firenze adds around 10-15 mins to the journey time, but most of the trains which also call in Firenze, make up to four other station calls, hence they're up to 40 mins slower than the fastest trains.
These Italo trains take the same high speed route as the Frecce trains
Option: taking the Intercity trains
Journey Summary
6hr 22min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Napoli
If you want to make the train journey from Milan to Rome, these InterCity trains are much slower than the alternative and Italo trains, because unlike those trains, these Intercity trains don't travel on the high speed lines.
So why would you consider spending more than an additional three hours making the Milano to Roma journey on these trains?
The simple answer is price; travellers can typically save at least €20 by taking these Intercity trains.
They are usually scheduled to depart from Milano Centrale daily at 05:00 and 14:48.
2 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
Take these Intercity trains from Milano to Roma and you can save at least €20 in comparison to taking the faster trains.
Though make sure you enter Roma Tiburtina as the 'To' station when looking up this journey
Rail Pass Users:
If you have a rail pass you can save €10 by taking these trains, as Eurail and InterRail users don't have to make reservations to travel by these trains, but paying the €3 optional reservation fee is virtually essential, because if you don't, you'll be lucky not to have constantly find different seats during the journey.
So think twice! You can save more than 3 hours by taking the Frecce trains and the journey will also be more comfortable.
This is a journey on which the balance definitely tips in favour of paying the more expensive supplement to travel on the Freece trains.
If you do, then target the faster Frecce trains, they won't cost you any more than the slower Frecce trains and will save you around a further 20-25 mins.
How to book the rail pass reservations online is included on our guide to using rail passes in Italy.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trenitalia | from €19.90 approx | |
| Italiarail | from €19.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Note that these Intercity trains do NOT call at Roma Termini - the city's main station.
Between Firenze/Florence and Roma these Intercity trains travel through a similar landscape, the foothills of the Apennine Mountains, as the high speed trains, though their slower speeds allows more time to take in the scenery.
Though between Bologna and Firenze is the most scenic part of the journey by these Intercity trains; and the high speed trains travel between those two cities in a series of tunnels.
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