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Intercity Notte (Italy)
If you will be taking a journey by Intercity Notte trains our summary will tell you the key things you need to know, from boarding, to making the most of the journey experience.
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At a Glance
Catering
Food services available
Trolley Service:
Train Specification
Attributes of the train
Has a Conductor
Travel Comforts
Power Socket
Reservations
Compulsory
Time of Day
Night
Travel Pass Supplement
Rail Pass Reservation Fees
Travel Passes
Eurail
InterRail
On Board
Cabine Excelsoir (2 bed sleeping cabin)
Perks
Power Socket
The power sockets on this train are compatible with standard E.U. two point plugs.
Echoing that these are Italian overnight trains, on boarding into these 'Deluxe' sleeping cabins, passengers are greeted with a complimentary glass of prosecco, along with some complimentary snacks.
These cabins have two beds.
Also included with the price of a ticket, or a rail pass reservation fee are:
- Hygiene kits;
- comfortable pillow with sealed pillowcase, cotton sheets, duvet and duvet cover and towel (the cabins are sanitised and the linen is freshly prepared for each departure);
- a complimentary bottle of water;
- a light breakfast served in the cabin (of the type typically available in Italian hotels).
The features of the cabin:
- A shower (only available in the Cabin Excelsoir cabin)
- Private toilet with wash basin
- Reading lamps
- Clothes hangars
- a lock on the door
- a button to summon the attendant (though when boarding the attendant will arrange the time of your alarm call, so that you can be sure of being up in time to leave the train at your station call).
The features of the train:
- a trolley service of drinks and snacks (items are not complimentary)
- an on board cleaner
- air-conditioning
Links
Vaggoni Letto Deluxe (3 bed sleeping cabin)
Perks
Power Socket
The power sockets on this train are compatible with standard E.U. two point plugs.
These cabins have three beds.
Included with the price of a ticket, or a rail pass reservation fee are:
- Hygiene kits;
- comfortable pillow with sealed pillowcase, cotton sheets, duvet and duvet cover and towel (the cabins are sanitised and the linen is freshly prepared for each departure);
- a complimentary bottle of water;
- a light breakfast served in the cabin (of the type typically available in Italian hotels).
The features of the cabin:
- Wash basin
- Reading lamps
- Clothes hangars
- a lock on the door
- a button to summon the attendant (though when boarding the attendant will arrange the time of your alarm call, so that you can be sure of being up in time to leave the train at your station call).
The features of the train:
- a trolley service of drinks and snacks (items are not complimentary)
- an on board cleaner
- air-conditioning
Cuccetta Comfort (couchette)
Perks
Power Socket
The power sockets on this train are compatible with standard E.U. two point plugs.
Four berths are available.
Included with the price of a ticket, or a rail pass reservation fee are:
- a sealed and disinfected bed linen set with freshly laundered blanket, sheets, pillow and pillowcase; you can unpack these and used them as you wish.
The features of the cabin:
- Reading lamps
- a lock on the door
- a button to summon the attendant (though when boarding the attendant will arrange the time of your alarm call, so that you can be sure of being up in time to leave the train at your station call).
The features of the train:
- a trolley service of drinks and snacks (items are not complimentary)
- a hygiene kit, which can be purchased on board (included when booking a sleeping cabin)
- an on board cleaner
- air-conditioning
Links
Intercity Notte travel summary:
These trains convey:
- Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Cabine Excelsoir)
- Standard sleeping cars (Vagonni Letto Deluxe)
- Couchettes (Cucceta comfort)
- ordinary seated coaches of the type used on daytime Intercity services.~
Though a key difference with the daytime services is that a catering trolley is available to all travellers on these Intercity Notte services.
Booking tickets for the sleeping cabins and couchettes:
In common with all other European night train services, there are two elements to the price of travelling in a sleeping cabin:
- The cost of the making the journey
- The reservation fee for the type of accommodation
On Intercity Notte trains the sleeping car cabin reservations have one fixed price; and what's particularly unusual is that this also applies to the couchette compartments on these trains.
Therefore when booking on Trenitalia, the total cost (travel + accommodation) per person depends on the number of people travelling together.
If you will be travelling alone you will in effect be paying the journey fee + the full reservation cost of the sleeping cabin or couchette compartment, but during your journey you will be sole occupant of the sleeping cabin or couchette compartment.
Seems logical, but this is not how the ticketing is usually arranged on European sleeper trains, as the reservation cost is usually applied to the bed/bunk and not the entire cabin.
So if two people travelling together the cost will be 2 x journey fees + 1 reservation cost (the two people will be the sole occupants of a 3-bed sleeping cabin (the Vaggoni Letto Deluxe) or a 4 berth couchette (cucceta), but will obviously be the sole occupants of a 2 bed cabin (Cabine Excesloir)
Though when three or more people are travelling together you can split the party; one person can travel in a Cabine Exclesoir and the others can travel in a couchette etc.
So, for example, four people could pay for the equivalent of 4 x journey fees + the reservation fee for a Cabine Exclesoir + the reservaton fee of an entire Cucetta/couchette compartment.
When booking on Trenitalia:
- Uso esclusivo - one person in the cabin or couchette
- Doppia = two people in the cabin or couchette
- Tripla = three people in the cabin or couchette.
Using InterRail and Eurail Passes:
When travelling with a Eurail or InterRail pass on an Intercity Notte train, as is the norm on European night trains, the rail pass covers the journey fee, but not the reservation costs, which must be paid prior to boarding.
These rail pass reservation fees are apparently calculated on a per person basis (and not on a per cabin/compartment basis, as is the case when booking tickets for these trains.)
The reservation fees are:
Seats = €3
A bunk in a Cucceta Comfort compartment = €41*
A bed in Vaggoni Letto Deluxe cabin = €48*
A bed in a Cabine Excesoir cabin when two people are travelling together = €58 per person
A bed in a Cabine Excesoir cabin with sole occupancy = €122
*= What isn't clear is whether by paying these fees you will have sole occupancy of the cabin/compartment as you would when booking tickets.
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