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Thello - Paris to Italy, Marseille/Nice to Italy

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Porty

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All overnight sleepers Paris - Venice via Milan now cancelled untl 30th June. Nice to Milan (twice daily) restarts on 4th June. No date for the Marseille service to restart.

I was booked on a Paris to Milan couchette next month. I used the payment and electronic ticketing via the Trenitalia website. Very simple process to get a full refund with an online form to complete in three languages (Italian, French and English). The acknowledgement said it might take 8 weeks to get the cash, but it was received in 6 weeks from sending back the form.

Travelled with Thello last year and quite impressed with their customer service and ease of booking. It's a company wholly owned by Trenitalia. Fares are very reasonable if booked well ahead and can be a lot less than a day train, with the advantage of saving an overnight cost. As the train leaves Paris at around 1930 there's loads of time to get there from anywhere in the UK (I am based in Scotland) and still have plenty of time for a meal before getting on the train
 
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dutchflyer

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Thus you must have drawn the lucky nr. Many complaints about indifferent at best or quite bad on-board service in many tourist and train-enth. fora. Tipically what people have learnt to expect from state-run entities with union-assured lifetime jobs.
 

Jamesrob637

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Thello Nice to Milano is reviewed quite nicely here:


The line from Nice to Genoa is particularly scenic, Genoa to Milano a little less so.
 

Porty

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Location
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Just had an email regarding my Milan to Marseille journey planned for mid June and which was cancelled a few weeks ago. I will get my credit card refund within 48 hours. More excellent service and no questions of trying to fob me off with credits for future use. Excellent service.
 

duesselmartin

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Thello Nice to Milano is reviewed quite nicely here:


The line from Nice to Genoa is particularly scenic, Genoa to Milano a little less so.

Certainly Nice to Ventimiglia and then Alassio to Genova.
sadly just after Ventimiglia until Andora the line is now in a gigantic tunnel.

Martin.
 
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Location
Birmingham
All overnight sleepers Paris - Venice via Milan now cancelled untl 30th June. Nice to Milan (twice daily) restarts on 4th June. No date for the Marseille service to restart.

I was booked on a Paris to Milan couchette next month. I used the payment and electronic ticketing via the Trenitalia website. Very simple process to get a full refund with an online form to complete in three languages (Italian, French and English). The acknowledgement said it might take 8 weeks to get the cash, but it was received in 6 weeks from sending back the form.

Travelled with Thello last year and quite impressed with their customer service and ease of booking. It's a company wholly owned by Trenitalia. Fares are very reasonable if booked well ahead and can be a lot less than a day train, with the advantage of saving an overnight cost. As the train leaves Paris at around 1930 there's loads of time to get there from anywhere in the UK (I am based in Scotland) and still have plenty of time for a meal before getting on the train

Thello ight trains now cancelled until end of July. We were also booked on one. We still want to try to get to Italy so we'll try Cologne/Innsbruck/Trento route if Austria open their border to Italy and OEBB start their night trains as suggested on 26th June
 

Porty

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31 Mar 2020
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Location
Edinburgh
Thello ight trains now cancelled until end of July. We were also booked on one. We still want to try to get to Italy so we'll try Cologne/Innsbruck/Trento route if Austria open their border to Italy and OEBB start their night trains as suggested on 26th June
Just in case you're stuck with specific dates and other options by train don't work out in I see Flixbus seem to have restarted the direct night bus from Paris on 15th July leaving at 0030, arriving Milan at 1320. Nothing like as comfortable as the train but at £41.99 it is a possible option.

Trains within Italy seem to be pretty much back to normal, albeit with reduced capacity.

Flixbus app is easy to use and play about with routes and dates. Sometimes gives interesting and unusual links where trains are not easily available.
 
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Just in case you're stuck with specific dates and other options by train don't work out in I see Flixbus seem to have restarted the direct night bus from Paris on 15th July leaving at 0030, arriving Milan at 1320. Nothing like as comfortable as the train but at £41.99 it is a possible option.

Trains within Italy seem to be pretty much back to normal, albeit with reduced capacity.

Flixbus app is easy to use and play about with routes and dates. Sometimes gives interesting and unusual links where trains are not easily available.

Thanks for the advice. With two youngish kids we'd prefer to do the train so fingers crossed for the border opening. Once we are in Italy it looks Ok as you say
 

jopsuk

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13 May 2008
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email today from Thello confirming my trip in July cancelled, with a nice direct link to the form to request a refund for my cancelled ticket
 

Porty

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Joined
31 Mar 2020
Messages
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Location
Edinburgh
Thello have now cancelled their overnight Paris-Milan-Venice trains indefinitely. A great pity as this good value route was ideal for those travelling from points nort in the UK. I can imagine that demand is low and if its not possible to share a couchette compartment with strangers then the cost inevitably rises, certainly for a single traveller.
 

duesselmartin

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18 Jan 2014
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Location
Duisburg, Germany
Thello have now cancelled their overnight Paris-Milan-Venice trains indefinitely. A great pity as this good value route was ideal for those travelling from points nort in the UK. I can imagine that demand is low and if its not possible to share a couchette compartment with strangers then the cost inevitably rises, certainly for a single traveller.
That still surprises me. J would have assumed a resumption by 2021.
 

jopsuk

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Joined
13 May 2008
Messages
12,771
Thello have now cancelled their overnight Paris-Milan-Venice trains indefinitely. A great pity as this good value route was ideal for those travelling from points nort in the UK. I can imagine that demand is low and if its not possible to share a couchette compartment with strangers then the cost inevitably rises, certainly for a single traveller.
damn. That's a spanner in the works for next summer
 

Porty

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Joined
31 Mar 2020
Messages
80
Location
Edinburgh
That still surprises me. J would have assumed a resumption by 2021.
I think that summer 2021 is a reasonable hope. They have been rolling forward the suspension of services every few weeks but with the lower passengers in the autumn and winter it makes sense, I suppose to forget about it for at least 6 months. Only a few months ago Thello (a subsidiary of Trenitalia) were talking about running day services in competition with SNCF TGVs so I'm hopeful that that will be resurrected. Increasingly I suspect that future travel planning will be much more speculative, with tickets booked much nearer the day of travel.
 

Birkonian

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19 Sep 2017
Messages
185
I've always found Thello to be prompt in issuing refunds.
Sorry, but I nearly choked when reading this. I complained about a truly awful journey with Thello in 2019. I kept compaining but they ignored me totally until March 2020. Out of the blue they agreed to pay 25% compensation. I'm still waiting.
 

JonathanP

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Joined
1 Aug 2008
Messages
317
Location
Berlin, Germany
Thello have now cancelled their overnight Paris-Milan-Venice trains indefinitely. A great pity as this good value route was ideal for those travelling from points nort in the UK.

Regretably, everythhing I have heard about Thello suggests it would be a positive development for virtually any other operator take over the vacated train paths.
 
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