European Railroad Discussion > Rome-London - 1 Day; 4 Capitals, 4 Trains (+ RER and Metro)

Last Friday - 18 March 2016 - I did a one-day train ride from Rome to London using 4 trains (plus RER and Metro to get across Paris).  I had originally considered using Thello sleepers for overnight, but decided I would rather see the scenery.  So I figured out a one-day itinerary using my European Rail Timetable (yes - on paper!!).  Just to make things more interesting, FS/Trenitalia staff was on a 24-hour nationwide strike from 9pm Thurs 17 March to 9pm 18 March 2016.  However, the union has apparently agreed to operate all Freccia class trains and certain international trains during the strikes, so all the Italian train rides actually came off flawlessly during the strike.   Here's what I did:

Train 1 - Frecciarossa 9610 (FS/Trenitalia)
0800 - depart Roma Termini
1055 - arrive Milano Centrale

Train 2 - Eurocity 52 (SBB)
1123 - depart Milano Centrale
1529 - arrive Basel SBB

Train 3 - TGV Duplex Lyria 9226 (SNCF)
1634 - depart Basel SBB
1937 - arrive Paris Gare de Lyon

Cross Paris by RER Line A and Metro Line 4.  RER Line D, which is direct from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord had a service interruption - so I opted for the transfer at Chatelet/Les Halles from RER A to Metro Line 4.

Train 4 - Eurostar 9063
2101 - depart Paris Gare du Nord
2239 - arrive London St Pancras
 
Arrival in London was on time.  Not sure if you can do this all in one day in the southbound direction - may be a northbound only option.   This itnierary hits the 4 capital cities of the 4 countries I went through - Rome, Bern, Paris and London.   Tickets for Rome-Paris were bought through the FS/Trenitalia website, which worked better for me than all the other sites I tried.  Fare was 300 Euros exactly.  Couldn't get the raileurope or the Loco2 websites to let me buy this itinerary.  Eurostar was purchased through the Eurostar website and was 63 pounds sterling.  Had a very nice lunch in the restaurant car on Eurocity 52 as we swooped through the Alps.  I can recommend that highly!

For those who remember the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash car races in the 1970s across the US, I hereby inaugurate the Cannonball Watry 4-Capital Memorial Rail Trophy Dash!  See if you can get from Rome to London by train faster than I did.  Pull out your timetables and start planning!

1. FS/Trenitalia Frecciarossa 9610 arriving Roma Termini from Napoli.  Train reverses at Termini.
2. Interior of Premium Class coach on 9610.  This is the businessperson's train to get to Milano from Napoli and Rome in the morning.
3. Eurocity 52 at Milano Centrale (SBB stock).   I believe this is an ETR 610 trainset. 

 

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4. Italian side of the Alps - this is Lago Maggiore.  Interesting to see plam trees around the lake with snow-capped mountains directly behind. 
5. Restaurant car on the Eurocity 52.    I had the veal and spaetzle with a salad - pretty good. 
6. Swiss side of the Alps.
 

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7.  Interior of SBB ETR 610 trainset.
8.  Streetcars in Basel between trains.
9.  SNCF TGV Lyria (double-deck) in Basel.  This train originates in Zurich.

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10.  Interior of lower level of TGV Lyria.
11.  Paris Gare de Lyon - foozball table to entertain waiting passengers!
12.  Eurostar E-320 trainset at London St Pancras. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/16 10:57 by dwatry.

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What the Italians call an ETR-610, the Swiss call it a RABe-503 trainset.

Four capitals?  I see Rome, Paris, London.  I think the capital of Switzerland is Bern and not Basel, although Basel is probably a larger city.  I enjoyed your trip almost as much as you did.  Thanks for all the photos.  Unbelievable in one day by train. 

I stand corrected - I only read your departure/arrival times and their cities - not the actual itinerary shown in your text further down.

Many years ago I traveled from Rome to Heidelberg, Germany.  We went through Milan and then the Gotthard route to Lucerne and Basel, bypassing Bern.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/16 15:28 by boejoe.

Duncan

Great report. I'm guessing the timekeeping was impeccable.

I was interested in the interior shot of the SSB trainset. I had the opportunity to ride several FrecciaArgento trains in and out of Venice last month. This middle level of TrenItalia high speed train service uses essentially the same trainset as the Swiss trainset although it is formally an ETR600. I have to confess that I found the window seats in 2nd class in an ETR600 to be very narrow, and to make things worse  the slanted window panel reduced shoulder room to an uncomfortable degree. Quite disapointing. Second class in the Bianca and Rossa service was much more comfortable.

BTW notice the same viper-like light fixture between the seats in both my ETR600 and your ETR610

I'm curious how you found the comfort level of the Swiss train set.

Here is a shot of the interior of a FrecciaArgento coach

Neil



dwatry Wrote:
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> 7.  Interior of SBB ETR 610 trainset.
> 8.  Streetcars in Basel between trains.
> 9.  SNCF TGV Lyria (double-deck) in Basel.  This
> train originates in Zurich.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/16 16:02 by WP17.

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Yes, Bern was a stop on the way, but not a transfer point.   Here's a photo of a BLS emu set in the yard in Bern.   EC 52 reverses direction at the Bern HBF. 

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Thanks for this excellent report. I'm a big fan of the dwindling number of overnight sleeper trains in Europe but wasn't familiar with the Thello trains. In a few weeks, I'll be attempting something similar. Overnight EN  from Poznan to Koln. Thays to Brussels (having second thoughts about that). Then Eurostar to St. Pancaras. A short walk to Euston and Virgin north to Lancaster. Next day ferry to Isle of Man. I hope it all goes as smoothly as your trip.

That sounds like a very fun trip.  I've been through Brussels a number of times recently (before the recent events) without incident, but you never know.  Right now might actually be the safest time to go through there, with all the heightened security. 

I've been wondering what other trips you could take by train and hit 4 (or more) capitals in one day.  Perhaps if you started in Amsterdam, went through the Hague (because the Netherlands has a split capital), Brussels to Paris, then headed east to hit Luxembourg you could hit 4 easily.  Could you get to Berlin or Bern to make it 5?  If it were pre-1989 you would only have to get to Bonn, which would be easy.   Or you could do London, Paris, Brussels, the Hague/Amsterdam easily in one day - add Luxembourg for the 5th.  Could you get 6? 

Neil:

To tell you the truth, I spent almost the whole time on the SBB train in the dining car, which was very comfortable.  Especially after a few beers.  I was not aware of the seat issues you noted at the time, though thinking back on it the FS/Trenitalia train was probably more comfortable.  I found the seat-reservation system to not be very accurate about whether the seat you had reserved was forward or rear-facing.   I made sure I had all forward-facing seats reserved, and of course two of them were actually backward-facing on the train. 

In Switzerland, there were some undercover Swiss Immigration/Customs agents patrolling the train, and they pulled a few people off the train at Olten.  They were concerned about any luggage that there was no person immediately responsible for, which is understandable.    However on a train with a dining car, people can be absent from their seat for an hour or more - or in my case 2 1/2 hours!  I was just lucky that I returned to my seat right as they came through my car, or else my luggage might have taken a trip to a Swiss police station without me!

boejoe Wrote:
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> Four capitals?  I see Rome, Paris, London.  I
> think the capital of Switzerland is Bern and not
> Basel, although Basel is probably a larger city. 
> I enjoyed your trip almost as much as you did. 
> Thanks for all the photos.  Unbelievable in one
> day by train. 
>
> I stand corrected - I only read your
> departure/arrival times and their cities - not the
> actual itinerary shown in your text further down.
>
> Many years ago I traveled from Rome to Heidelberg,
> Germany.  We went through Milan and then theity
> Gotthard route to Lucerne and Basel, bypassing
> Bern.

The OP reports traveling through Bern, so he/she did indeed visit 4 capitals on his trip:  arguably 5, if Vatican City is included.

I did get to the Vatican on this trip but I'm not counting it in my capitals total because the train did not go there.  In fact I think there is no regular passenger service to the actual Vatiican - just freight and occasional special movements.  There is a train station in the Vatican though - see below.  Someone posted some pix of it closeup a few months ago on TO.  Second shot is of an FS train at the Roma San Pietro stop, which is the closest train station to the Vatican.  Both shots taken from the top of the dome at St Peter's Cathedral. 

13.  Vatican City train station
14.  Roma San Pietro station



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/16 00:42 by dwatry.

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dwatry Wrote:
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> I did get to the Vatican on this trip but I'm not
> counting it in my capitals total because the train
> did not go there.  In fact I think there is no
> regular passenger service to the actual Vatiican -
> just freight and occasional special movements. 
> There is a train station in the Vatican though -
> see below.  Someone posted some pix of it closeup
> a few months ago on TO.  Second shot is of an FS
> train at the Roma San Pietro stop, which is the
> closest train station to the Vatican.  Both shots
> taken from the top of the dome at St Peter's
> Cathedral. 
>
> 13.  Vatican City train station
> 14.  Roma San Pietro station

I would count the Metro stop near the Vatican Museums as "close enough", and that connects with your intercity train services at Termini.  Thanks for sharing your travel photos.

Top notch series, my friend! Thank you for steering me over here. I don't take time to check out my European cousins' work near as much as I should. But now I'll be doing so a little more often. BTW: I love the diner shot! (I may have to go sneak a cold one later... ;^)

Lance/199
(from the other side of the pond)