Online rail agent Loco2.com has been appointed the UK’s main ticketing outlet for Italo.
Italo is an “open access” operator (1) inside Italy and this privately-run rail company competes with state-owned Trenitalia on key north-south routes. All services are operated with high-speed Alstom trains.
Services link key the key northern cities of Turin, Milan and Venice with Bologna, Ancona, Florence, Rome and Naples.
Italo will be a useful for those travellers who plan to visit several majorn cities but who intend to fly there rather than take the train all the way from the UK.
Some Italo services operate at main stations but others offer alternative arrival/departure points.
All travel is ticketless and a printer in not required. Travellers are given a code at the time of booking and this code is shown to the ticket inspector onboard the train.
Says Edmond Boscoscuro, head of international sales at Italo, “Working with companies that are bringing real change to online train booking is key to Italo’s vision for a more dynamic rail market.”
Alex McWhirter
(1) “Open Access” train operators are those granted permission to compete against incumbent firm. In the UK, examples would include First Hull Trains and Grand Central who compete against East Coast.
