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Frecciabianca (Frecce) (Italy)
If you will be taking a journey by these Frecciabianca trains our guide will tell you all you need to know, from boarding, to making the most of the journey experience.
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At a Glance
Travel Pass Supplement
Rail Pass Reservation Fees
Reservations
Compulsory
Time of Day
Day
Catering
Food services available
Bar (sandwiches, snacks, salads)
Accessibility
Accessing the train
Wheelchair Spaces
Train Specification
Attributes of the train
Has a Conductor
Travel Passes
Eurail
InterRail
On Board
Business
Perks
WiFi
A complimentary WiFi portal is available throughout this train.
Power Socket
The power sockets on this train are compatible with standard E.U. two point plugs.
Welcome drinks:
Complimentary drinks and snacks will be served, choices will include coffee, orange juice and prosecco.
Good to know:
1. The power sockets in Frecciabianca trains are compatible only with Italian 3-pin plugs and not standard E.U. plugs.
2. A big tick in the box for the seating saloons in both 1st and 2nd class on the NON -tilting Frecciabianca trains (used on the Adriatic route) , is that virtually all of the seats are table seats which line up with the windows
Large-ish items of luggage will fit under and between the seats.
3. The seating saloon on the tilting trains (Roma <> Rimini and the Mediterranean routes) is less spacious - as per the norm on tilting trains.
4. The Wi-Fi can be a tad temperamental.
Standard
Perks
WiFi
A complimentary WiFi portal is available throughout this train.
Power Socket
The power sockets on this train are compatible with standard E.U. two point plugs.
Good to know:
1. The Wi-Fi can be temperamental.
2. The power sockets in Frecciabianca trains are compatible only with Italian 3-pin plugs and not standard E.U. plugs.
3. A big tick in the box for the seating saloons in 2nd class on the NON -tilting Frecciabianca trains, is that most of the seats are table seats and virtually all the seats line up with the windows.
Frecciabianca travel guide
They may be the slowest trains in the ‘Le Frecce’ family, but these Frecciabianca trains are still amongst the top tier of European express trains.
These are the fastest Italian trains that USUALLY don’t travel on the high speed line - so you won’t be travelling at more than 200 kmh if you take a Frecciabianca train.
Frecciabianca trains used to be called 'Eurostar Italia' trains and outside of Italy, that name can still be used.
Trenitalia assigns specific train numbers to each departure and uses AV at the start of the number for high speed trains.
However, a tad cheekily, it also uses the AV + a number format for Frecciabianca trains, despite the fact that they don't usually use high speed lines*.
*The exception is the fastest train in both directions between Roma and Genova.
Unlike Trenitalia's other Frecce trains, multiple different types of train are used for Frecciabianca services, but there are two main types of Frecciabianca trains (1) tilting and (2) non-tilting.
Routes:
The TILTING Frecciabianca trains are used for the fastest trains on the Mediterranean coast route between Roma and Genova/Torino/Milano via Livorno and Pisa.
They're also used on the daily direct trains between Rome and Rimini.
The NON-tilting Frecciabianca trains are now mainly used on The Adriatic coast route on trains between both Milano via Parma and Venezia <> Bari/Lecce via Rimini.
(Frecciabianca trains have been replaced by Frecciarossa trains on the Milano - Venezia route).
Reservations (& using rail passes)
Seats will be assigned when booking tickets.
Rail pass users will need to reserve prior to boarding - reservations can be booked at ticket counters or by using Trenitalia branded ticket machines OR online on the ItaliaRail website.
More info on how to book these rail pass reservations is available HERE.
Boarding:
Before boarding check the carrozza/coach number on your ticket, which will make getting on to the train less stressful.
At some stations that Frecciabianca trains call at, there will be information screens (with a red background) on the platform/binari, which indicate where to wait for the doors to a specific coach.
Where there aren’t any such info screens, the best option can be wait in the middle of the binari and then locate your carrozza/coach when the train arrives.
If need be, board by the nearest door that you can get to before the train departs, and then walk through the train to find your seat.
There are electronic displays on the outside of the coaches by the door and they display the coach number.
All seats are reserved, so there is no need to rush, (though people tend to).
When you enter carrozza/coach what you won’t see is any indication of the stations between which the seat is reserved for.
All you have to do is look for the seat numbers and match it to the seat number on your ticket - take your time as the seat numbers can lack logic.
Catering:
Frecciabianca trains have no restaurant cars, so the only food and drink sold on board is available from the bar coach.
The selection of food (mainly sandwiches and salads) isn’t the best and queues can build up at the counter, so taking your own food/drink on board with you is recommended.
If you are travelling in 1st class, there will be a trolley service of complimentary snacks and drinks – prosecco is one of the options.
If you ask for a coffee with milk you will be served a shot of expresso with a drop of milk in it.
Bicycles:
Folding bikes can be taken on board as hand luggage.
NON- folding bikes must be disassembled and placed in travel cases, that need to be shown to the conductor, or platform staff prior to boarding.
They need to be stowed in a specific part of the train and the conductor/platform staff will show you where.
Trenitalia's guide to travelling on its trains with bikes is HERE (It is in Italian so use Google Translate to make sense of it).
This is one of more than 150 train guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
