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Freccia Rossa Rides Its Inaugural Route From Milan to Rome

Where: Milan, Italy
March 25, 2009 at 12:18 PM | by | Comments (2)

Italy's new high-speed train service, Freccia Rossa ("Red Arrow"), made its inaugural high-speed rail service yesterday from Milan to Rome. The new service now lets travelers get from the fashion capital to the Eternal City in just three hours. (Currently, the trip takes about four hours.) Passengers can also get from Florence to Bologna in just 35 minutes, down from one hour.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rode the inaugural trip, even posing in the pilot's cabin wearing the chief engineer's hat. He looks so...cute?

However, don't go planning your summer trips to Italy around this train. The service won't officially begin until mid-December. (December 13 is the possible date.) Then, trains will run every 15 minutes for a total of 51 daily trips. Nineteen of those will be non-stop.

All this train travel is good for us scaredy cats afraid of flying but it's certainly a blow to Alitalia Airlines, which has already suffered quite a bit recently.

Prices for the train rides are not yet up but FS Italian Railways (Trenitalia) promised a more flexible pricing structure with reduced fares depending on time of year, departure times and days of the week. Currently, tickets for a Milano to Roma trip starts at 67.50 Euros.

Related Stories:
· Trenitalia [Official Site]
· Berlusconi inaugurates Frecciarossa [ANSA]

[Photo: Panorama]

Comments (2)

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love it

old silvio looks like a cardboard cutout - brilliant. i love italian trains, can't wait to try it
juliab on March 25, 2009 at 5:11 PM #Permalink

Amazing

Berlusconi manages to look even more dopey than usual. Yay, trains!
pbb on March 25, 2009 at 11:38 PM #Permalink

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