I'm writing this post more as a F.Y.I. because I know information takes time to spread and many well-intentioned Helpiners keep giving outdated or incomplete information about trains in Italy. If you are travelling on the Milano-Bologna-Firenze-Roma-Napoli route, you should check ITALO TRENO, a new company that just expanded its frequencies on that high-speed route. They don't have €9 fares, but often they have cheaper fares than Trenitalia when it had its lowest fares sold out. From Aug 26th they will have services to Salerno as well. From Oct 27th, a second branch of services to Padova, Mestre and Venezia will be added. From Dec 9th, Torino will be added.
Thanks so much for the great ! Copying it for the file! I am assuming the trains will depart from the same stations. Do they have separate ticket counters inside?
I've followed these new services closely (I have no financial or whatever direct interest in the company). They have Free Wi-Fi that works on all sectors except Firenze-Bologna (which is a long tunnel). Travel times are more or less the same as Trenitalia. Personally, I think their trains, the French AGV are much better than the ITalian ETR500 used on those high-speed services. Their website is http://www.italotreno.it/EN/Pages/default.aspx
@donna: they have separate ticket facilities and machines. IMostly, they use the same stations. In Milano they use two different stations: Pta. Garibaldi and some trains also call at Rogoredo. In Roma they use Tiburtina and some trains also call at Ostiense. Porta Garibaldi is better located for all hotels in Via Garibaldi and Brera area (walking distance) and there are direct train connections to Malpensa.
Good to know. FWIW, Roma Tiburtina is a little northeast of Termini, and Roma Ostiense is south of the Aventine Hill. I would imagine there are decent connections from those stations to the rest of Rome. They each have a Metro stop and I'm sure lots of buses.
How far in advance can you book tickets with them?
As I did in the transportation section, I'm bumping this post to remind everyone to check Italo when considering travel plans in Italy. There are a lot of inquiries here about train travel in Italy, but rarely I read people mentioning Italo, and they already have decent frequency on the main axis.
But I don't think they accept passes, for those who have them, do they?