Does a 'separate convoy' mean there are 2 separate trains that follow one another to a destination, but they are not connected? I am getting ready to book Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale...and this message comes up: "Attention, this train is composed of two separated convoys (Convoy A and Convoy B)." I interpret that to mean there are 2 separate trains ...and convoy typically means traveling together...I just have never heard this in a train situation. Curious....before I confirm.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7327 posts
Does the booking site offer a button to "show journey details?" That might reveal if it's a poor translation of "change required." Please identify the website or ticket vendor.
Posted by
OP
Beaverton, OR, United States
245 posts
Trenitalia 2Jul Roma Termini-Napoli Centrale -- it is a non-stop. Website: Trenitalia
Posted by
Green Bay
20160 posts
Yes, and there is a Frecciargento 5 minutes behind it. Must be a "repositioning" operation as July 2 is a Sunday and they need another trainset in Naples Monday morning.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
Nice (and smart) try Sam, but passengers trains do not work like subways.
Trenitalia was asked to double the available seats on some Freccia trains out of Turin headed to Naples. This without changing neither the departure hours nor the travel time.
Of course Italo was not going to free one of its few expensive morning time slots out of Turin. For obvious reasons RFI would never allow two separate trains to travel one just after the other: it takes a little to stop 8 cars and 2 engines running at 300 kms per hour. It's not just a matter of security, Trenitalia and Italotreno must pay RFI for any given time slot on the high speed network.
So they found the only possible solution, they decided to connect 2 trains and to use 2 engines: double seats, one conductor, almost the same top speed, but always one single train per slot. Pure Trenitalia.
Posted by
OP
Beaverton, OR, United States
245 posts
Thanks darioalb! So the trains are connected -- 2 engines and cars connected. I would think with double the capacity...the price might be even lower ;-).
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15202 posts
It's a new service starting on 11 Jun.
Basically two trains connected for a total of 16 passenger cars (over 900 seats). The two trains are attached to each other by the engin nose to double the capacity. See right side photo.
La car numeration is alpha-numeric. The two attached trains are identified as train (convoglio) “A” e “B”: the cars of train “A” are numbered 1A, 2A, etc; the cars of train “B”, attached behind are numbered 1B, 2B and so on. By doubling the number of cars, they increase the capacity without adding an additional departure slot.
The new double trains are 16 cars long (plus 2 engines). I am not sure all stations can handle that length of trains. I doubt old Firenze Santa Maria Novella has platforms long enough, maybe just barely. Maybe they might have to reconfigure those platforms in Florence if they want to stop there.