Italian state railway operator Trenitalia operates its Frecciarossa high-speed trains on the Lyon-Paris route in direct competition with French national company SNCF’s TGV trains.
Whilst both are fast, they are slightly different, with business class on Frecciarossa boasting complimentary meals and an entertainment app for passengers. But which is best? On a trip this winter, I discovered that whilst the Italian offering offers some benefits, the hard product doesn’t quite measure up.
I connected into Lyon Part-Dieu, a functional yet uninspired space. Twenty minutes before boarding, long lines formed for ticket checks at the escalator. But there were no lines near the elevator which also had a check-in agent. I nipped over to the latter and was on the platform quickly.
Lyon Part-Dieu is not a destination station. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Helpfully, the platform screens indicate the location of the different carriages.
The infoscreens made boarding much faster and less stressful. Image: Fintan Horan-Stear
Traveling in business class, I was in the prime position as the red arrow glided into position.
RGN has covered this train before (in its ‘better than first class’ Executive class carriage) but to recap, the Frecciarossa 1000 is a high-speed train with space for 457 passengers and a service speed of 300 kph and potential top speed of 400 kph (248 mph).
As I entered the carriage, I was greeted by a sea of brown. The only splashes of colour are beige on the walls, plus blue antimacassars and some silver accents on the seats.
The seating is organised in a 2-1 configuration, which is standard in European rail for this class of travel. There are two sets of table seats and then some rows of single solo seats.
After taking in the space, I settled into my solo seat and inspected the fittings. It must be said that this cabin is not luxurious. There is no carpeting, and hardly any fabric.
The flooring is a hard plastic vinyl, also a muddy brown, but the bright lights helped to make it feel warmer. On the plus side, the windows are very large. Sadly, the seats are not very well aligned with the pillars.
The carriage, which is fairly roomy, also features an accessible space at the front, next to an accessible bathroom (more on that later). As we prepared for departure, I inspected my seat.
Made of a moulded leather, the seats are very, very strongly sculpted and have very little give. They feel more like a sports car seat than a limousine. Nevertheless, my seat was comfortable enough.
Each seat has a footrest, as well as a recline mechanism, but my recline was broken so the seat kept slipping forward. Each seat also features a universal power socket and two USB-A ports, although I had to get on my hands and knees to find the USB outlets hidden under the cushion. The socket itself was also very hard to use.
The tray table was large enough for a laptop, but the lack of adjustability would make typing difficult. It also did not have a PED holder. Finally, the fixtures of the seat were chipped in high traffic areas and needed a deep clean.
Overall, the hard product is tolerable, but is no match for the refined InOui Duplex competing on this route for SNCF.
After a short delay, we snaked out of Lyon towards Paris. As I didn’t have a lot of work to do, I decided to try out the streaming entertainment system, Freccia Play. This is accessed either from your browser or via an app that you can download from the Apple or Google Play stores.
The system offers a lot of good stuff, so I decided to watch some Chernobyl. It took a while to load, but once it did, it streamed well and was of a high quality.
A live connection, via the onboard Wi-Fi, was fast and free. Having both cached entertainment and Internet options available for passengers can make a long journey, such as from Paris to Milan, much more appealing by train. I would also add that the app-based experience felt slick.
Thirty minutes in, the meal service began. This is an added perk that is not usually provided on European trains, even in first class. The meal consisted of a snack box which contained two biscuits. The box had a lot of packaging (which at least is recyclable), and the biscuits were crisp in the Italian style. Water was provided, as well as teas, coffees and soft drinks.
After consuming my snack, I checked out the accessible seating.
Trenitalia is very proud of the accessibility on board its 1000 series trains. Accessible seating and bathrooms are located by the train manager’s office for maximum support. This is commendable, though the pathway between the doors, bathroom and seating remains quite narrow.
The accessible seat design is impressive with more accessible, easy-to-access charging points and sockets.
The bathroom was spacious and clean, although the toilet’s flush mechanism was clearly confusing to passengers as instructions had been added in Biro.
The bistro is located nearby, offering full meals for purchase which seem reasonably priced.
An hour in, crew offered an espresso service, which I love. It’s a slice of Italian culture. Unfortunately, the coffee tasted of antibacterial cleanser.
I spent the rest of the journey watching Chernobyl as we raced to Paris.
As we arrived into Paris’ beautiful Gare De Lyon station, I had mixed feelings about Frecciarossa business class.
The seat is fine, if firm, and I had loads of space to stretch out, but it did not feel as luxurious or as well made as the TGV InOui Duplex.
The cabins are also just not very nice places to be. Carpeting would help, as would additional padding on the seats. The train is very quiet and smooth, and the snack is a nice addition, if not a game-changer in terms of quality or quantity.
Overall, the Frecciarossa business class product is a perfectly fine way to travel, but your author reckons that InOui offers a better hard product (unless, of course, you can afford the Frecciarossa Executive class).
Related Articles:
Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa Executive proves delightfully decadent
How TGV Duplex sets the pace for first class train travel
Ouigo high-speed rail proves fuss-free on Paris-Bordeaux
Flagging accessibility as EU eyes cross-border rail through-ticketing
All images credited to Fintan Horan-Stear
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