TRAIN THELLO – The Italian railway company Thello will compete with SNCF on the Paris-Lyon-Milan high-speed line from October.
[Updated September 13, 2021 at 09:59] The leading alternative passenger rail operator in France, Thello operates passenger trains between France and Italy. Created in 2010, SNCF’s competitor company has been entirely owned by the Italian public company Trenitalia since 2016. By direct train or night train, Thello serves the Italian cities of Venice and Milan from several major French cities. From October, Thello’s red Zefiro will operate twice a day between Paris and Lyon at 300 km/h, then Lyon and Milan at 200 km/h. The trip between Paris and Milan will last 6 hours compared to 7 hours with the SNCF. Currently, Thello is carrying out tests and travelers at Gare de Lyon, in Paris, can admire the red TGV from the Trenitalia subsidiary. The new Thello line will also make it possible to use only the Paris-Lyon section.
Boarding at Paris Gare de Lyon, spending the night on a sleeper train and waking up in Venice, it’s possible thanks to Thello night trains. Daily, the Paris-Venice train line leaves Paris Gare de Lyon at 7:15 p.m. to arrive in Venice Santa Lucia the next morning at 9:35 a.m. (stops: Paris / Dijon / Milan / Brescia / Verona / Vicenza / Padua / Venice Mestre / Venice Santa Lucia). Train tickets are available from €29 one-way in the 6-person sleeper compartment and from €85 in the 2-bed cabin (non-exchangeable non-refundable Smart fare).
If you want to get to Rome by train rather than by car or plane, you can take the Paris-Milan line and then change to Frecciarossa Milan-Rome. Leaving at 7:15 p.m. from Paris Gare de Lyon, count between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. by train to reach your destination.
You can stop in Milan by taking the Thello Paris-Venice train line. Departing from Gare de Lyon at 7:15 p.m., you will arrive at Milano Centrale at 6 a.m. the next day. Tickets are sold from 29 euros one way in a 6-berth compartment at the non-exchangeable and non-refundable Smart fare.
Do you want to go to Milan from the south of France? Thello offers 3 daily departures from Nice Ville throughout the year: at 8:01 a.m., 2:02 p.m. and 6:08 p.m. for an arrival in the capital of fashion and design at 12:50 p.m., 6:50 p.m. or 10:50 p.m. depending on your departure time. On the return, departures from Milan are at 7:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m. or 3:05 p.m. Thello’s Smart fare will allow you to travel Nice-Milan from 15 euros one way at the best price.
In the direction of Milan, Thello offers 1 daily departure from Marseille at variable frequency during the year. The Marseille-Milan train line leaves Marseille St Charles at 3:28 p.m. to arrive in Milano Centrale at 10:50 p.m. It runs from 30 March 2019 to 19 April 2019 inclusive, from 23 April to 29 April 2019 inclusive, from 5 May to 29 May 2019 inclusive, from 3 to 7 June 2019 inclusive, from 11 June 2019 to 31 October 2019 inclusive and from 4 November 2019 to December 14, 2019 inclusive and every Saturday, Sunday and Monday from January 8, 2019 to March 29, 2019 inclusive. Train tickets are available from €27 for a one-way Smart fare.
Regarding the opinions on Thello, they are quite mixed. On TripAdvisor, travelers who have boarded one of the Italian railway company’s trains appreciate the night schedules but point the finger at the comfort of the berths, which are too cramped. In addition, delays seem to be quite frequent.
Would you like to contact Thello for information about a trip, a delay or a complaint? In addition to the online contact form available HERE, you can call the automated telephone service, available 24 hours a day on 01 83 82 00 00 (cost of a local call from a landline, excluding operator cost).
