Italy - UK railway comparisons

[Steve4031]

I had an interesting experience on the train to Sorrento. I was traveling with my father in the early 2000's. He got on the train and then a guy put his hand on the side of the train to block me from getting on. I was fearful of getting separated, so I countered his aggression with aggression.
I lowered my shoulder and used an American football move to power my way onto the train. I felt a hand in my pocket and realized I was getting pickpocketed. I kept my eye on the pickpoketer and he ended up cornered by the door opposite where we got on. I started yelling at him and demanding my wallet while threatening to hit him. He dropped my wallet and pointed to the floor. I picked it up and he tried to play dumb. I cursed him, his mamma, and his grandmother, and then went to work on his ancestors. The train stopped at the next station and he got off. Several people came up to see if I was okay. One lady told me the guy told her he thought he was having a heart attack as he got off the train.

 

[D8568]

On your next visit to Sicily you should try the branch lines from Siracusa to Modica, Ragusa and Gela - or Catania to Caltagirone - for the real vintage railcar experience....although, by then, the 1980s-vintage ALn668s may have been replaced by something more modern.

I did just this a couple of months ago. Noto to Modica, and then a day trip from Modica to Donnafugata, Donnafugata to Ragusa and Ragusa back to Modica. A single-carriage railcar (which I now know to be ALn668s) lazily trundling through valleys filled with olive and lemon trees. There weren't many passengers, and the guards didn't seem too interested in checking our tickets - indeed, I never got round to buying a ticket for my Modica-Donnafugata journey as the ticket office at Modica was closed. There were just a handful of trains each day. Overall it was a marvellous experience.

Then I had to make my way from Modica to Caltagirone, but there were no trains running due to track maintenance - instead, I had to use rail replacement busses, changing at Gela. The coach from Modica to Gela, oddly enough departed not from the railway station but from the main street nearby - outside the "La mela d' oro" greengrocers, the notice at the station helpfully said. Having located la mela d' oro, I didn't see any reference to a bus stop, nor any expectant people waiting around for a bus. Just as I was beginning to wonder if I had somehow misunderstood, and pondering if I should make an attempt to ask someone (my Italian skills are distinctly unimpressive, and the average Sicilian's grasp of English seemed to be even worse), an unmarked bus pulled up and I hastily boarded. I shared the trip with several middle-aged ladies, who spent the greater part of the journey loudly conversing with the driver.

The rail replacement service from Gela to Caltagirone turned out to be a minibus, of which I was the only passenger. I don't think the driver ever bothered selling me a ticket - perhaps he was so surprised to have a passenger on board that he forgot? I must say Caltagirone was the most charming town I visited in Sicily, notably less overrun by tourists than the 'golden trio' of Noto, Modica and Ragusa and as a result just a bit less neat and more grimy - I mean this in a good way.

For my Sunday return from Caltagirone to Catania there was no train that wouldn't result in me wasting my entire day, so I had to resort myself to taking the bus - itself an enjoyable experience with opportunities for people-watching. I also travelled between Catania, Siracusa and Noto on some other type of railcar - too modern and plastic to be interesting, but they were comfortable enough.

 

[D6130]

The rail replacement service from Gela to Caltagirone turned out to be a minibus, of which I was the only passenger.

Welcome to the forum! A very enjoyable account of your journeys around Southern Sicily. The Gela-Caltagirone line has been closed and bustituted since 8th May 2011, when a viaduct near Niscemi collapsed, leaving the track hanging in mid-air. Considering the fact that the line had only been opened in the mid-1970s, this came as a bit of a surprise....but the cement and concrete industry in Italy - and especially in Sicily - is completely controlled by the organisation which shall remain nameless and there are widespread rumours of cement being mixed with clinker to maximise the profits of said organisation. However, the good news is that the Italian government - in conjunction with the Sicilia region - have agreed the finance to rebuild and reopen the line - along with the Alcamo Dirimazione-Trapani line in Western Sicily....so, given the usual speed of Southern Italian - and especially Sicilian - bureaucracy, project management and corruption, I shall consider myself lucky if I have the chance to ride over the line in what is left of my lifetime!

I must say Caltagirone was the most charming town I visited in Sicily, notably less overrun by tourists than the 'golden trio' of Noto, Modica and Ragusa and as a result just a bit less neat and more grimy - I mean this in a good way.

Caltagirone is a wonderful town and - depite being the centre of the Sicilian handmade ceramics industry - sees very few tourists....and as a result hotels, restaurants and cafes are much more reasonably-priced than those in the 'Golden Triangle'. I hope you managed to visit Siracusa too. Despite its rather run-down out-of the way station, it's an incredibly beautiful and interesting city with a history going back more than 3,000 years to the ancient Greek colonisation of the island.

I - and I'm sure many other members on here - would be very interested to hear about your experiences of travelling by train in Greece.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Funny, I was going to make an exact same thread a few months ago when I came back from holidaying in Italy, but decided to write a trip report of my journey from Marylebone to Wembley Stadium instead...

I used Trenitalia a lot on my holiday and generally found it an interesting and pleasing railway. The ticket buying procedure was a pain, because you had to book a ticket for each timed train, but they were reliable and comfortable. I managed to do a bit of rail watching at Rome and Naples and enjoyed the variety; the different high speed trains, the electric locomotives and such. I caught one of the old high speed trains from the late 80s down from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale and found it an enjoyable experience. Was nice to see a high-speed train with power cars at each end again. I went down to Sicily too, but flew there. I wanted to take the sleeper but I saw no reference for a Naples to Sicily train before I left, how I wished I looked harder! We stayed in a small (and slightly dull) hotel near the Messina to Catania railway, so I could just make out the trains and on the beach, you could get a clear view of them. So by the end of the holiday, being the anorak I am, managed to work out the timetable of the trains along the line. There was some interesting freight traffic that came by about 1pm. Double headed electric locos. The Naples sleeper would run by about 11am, and you'd get the intercties going to and from the mainland in the mornings and afternoons. I walked up to my local station once to do some spotting and got a great shot of two electric locos coupled together running through the station. Also got in a trip down to Catania too which was great.

Infrastructure wise, it's clear a lot of (Euro) funding has been ploughed into the railways. Whilst there are still sidings everywhere, you can tell many have been built over to allow for an extra platform, or a widened platform. It's still a railway with much more variety and a sense of pride in their railways, unlike the air of reluctance in Britain's railways

 

[Richard Scott]

Standard class is also superior in Italy due to more generous space allowed by the loading gauge.

Really? Certainly not on local trains with next to no legroom and nasty plastic blue seat covers!