European Railroad Discussion > Two-hour Tuesday: Two hours at Salerno, Italy

On May 9, 2025 I was able to spend two hours on the platforms at Salerno, Italy, on the coast southeast of Naples. Unlike most of the larger stations in Italy where the platforms are gated and/or guarded for ticket holders only and entry no earlier than 45 minutes before train time, the station at Salerno offered free access and plenty of action.

1. A southbound passenger with an E464-class on each end. The E464-class is the most common electric passenger locomotive in Italy but bears a variety of paint schemes to keep things interesting. This paint scheme matches the second newest intercity paint scheme. This may have been an overnight sleeper train given the very different paint scheme on the carriages.

2. Once that train departed, a leased Vossloh DE18-class shunter flew through lettered for Mercitalia Shunting and Terminal. Tagged "Biff"?

3. High-speed train service is provided by a fleet of Frecciarossa (Red Arrow) electric trainsets. Most have this profile but there is at least one other body style. The maximum speed is 300 kph or 187 mph. I rode them on three occasions and they are very nice.

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4. A Trenitalia E402-class electric arrives with a southbound passenger train. This livery is a version of the Frecciabianca (White Arrow) paint scheme. Note the crowd of passengers on the platform to the left.

5. Another Trenitalia E464-class locomotive but in the newest interCity paint scheme. Some coaches have also started to be painted in a matching scheme. Note the pigeon in flight just to the left of the loco near ground level.

6. The above two trains side-by-side prior to departure.

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i rode that same style of Italian high speed equipment last month between Cordoba and Sevilla in Spain.  There are 3 carriers on the route - RENFE (Spanish), French (OuiGo) and Italian (frecarossa) - very colorful. The 3 carriers competing between the same city pair makes me think of Chicago to Twin Cities when there were Zephyrs, Hiawathas and 400s. 

7. In yet another paint scheme, an E464-class leads a northbound train of matching coaches. Note the completely different buffers and coupler.

8. And in a fourth scheme of the morning, an E464-class loco on the rear of the above train. Again, with different buffers and coupler than the locomotives shown in prior images.

9. And now for something completely different, a freight train! A Medway 494-class TRAXX DC3 locomotive passes through with a train of mostly MSC containers. Generally speaking, north of Naples, the high-speed passenger trains and freight trains use different lines so freight trains were few and far between for most of my trip. On the ride from Salerno down to Villa San Giovanni we met two northbound container trains.

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10. I am not certain what these bi-level EMUs are called. They are closest to the "Vivalto" EMUs shown in a prior post.

11. This is the only one of these that I saw. A Frecciargento (Silver Arrow) arriving from the north.

12. And the rear of the same train. Presumably an earlier generation of high-speed rail in Italy.

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Thanks for all your posts from Italy.  Gerry

NMlurker Wrote:
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> 11. This is the only one of these that I saw. A
> Frecciargento (Silver Arrow) arriving from the
> north.
>
> 12. And the rear of the same train. Presumably an
> earlier generation of high-speed rail in Italy.

ETR 485 Pendolini - the third generation tilting train
used primarily to Lecce and Bari to the east, and on
the Bergamo/Vicenza to Reggio di Calabria route.