Trains and other things: Formia, Aversa, Napoli, Salerno

In the morning, I can find newspapers hanging next to the windows in the corridor.

The train was on time, and I have now arrived in Rome

I'm having a breakfast at the station

Roma Termini

Today my journey will go further south to Salerno before I will take another night train, this time from Salerno north to Turin.

I'm taking an Intercity train to Formia, the train is bound for Siracusa which is in Sicily.

Interrail seat reservation price for the Intercity train is 3EUR. It is possible to reserve the seat in advance through Italiarail.com website

The Rome–Formia–Naples railway—also called the Rome–Naples Direttissima in Italian ("most direct")–is part of the traditional main north-south trunk line of the Italian railway network. It was opened in 1927 as a fast link as an alternative to the existing Rome–Naples via Cassino line, significantly reducing journey times. High-speed trains on the route use the parallel Rome–Naples high-speed railway, which was partially opened in December 2005, and fully in December 2009. (Wikipedia)

1st class coach of Intercity train offers 2+1 seating. The train is not fully booked, so if the reserved seat is not good, it is possible to choose another one

The scenery is beautiful as the train is approaching the coast

I will make a short stop at the Formia-Gaeta station

FS Class E.403

A night train from Turin to Salerno is passing by

Another night train is approaching the station, this one is from Siracusa to Rome

This train has a coach that is called Excelsior, with a private WC and shower

It's windy and chilly

Birdcage

Cappella di Stazione

Toy machine at the station

I'm continuing my journey with Regional train to Aversa

Aversa railway station serves the town and comune of Aversa, in the region of Campania, southern Italy. Opened in 1867, it forms the junction between the Rome–Formia–Naples railway and the Naples–Foggia railway. (Wikipedia)

Regional push-pull train

High-speed trains are passing by here for some reason

Here is NTV Italo train ETR 575

The train is an Alstom AGV

FS Class E.464

ALe 426/506 TAF (acronym of Treno ad Alta Frequentazione) is an Italian Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) used mainly on commuter regional trains.

ETR 400 or Frecciarossa 1000

My next train will take me to Naples

The train was full, not a single empty seat

Napoli

Mount Vesuvius can be seen already from the station

Napoli Centrale is the main railway station in the city of Naples and in southern Italy and the sixth-largest station in Italy in terms of passenger flow with an annual ridership of 50 million. It is located next to Piazza Garibaldi to the east of the old city. (Wikipedia)

Current station building in Naples is from 1960

Station P.za Garibaldi is located next to the main station

The station is served by commuter line 2 and ALe 724 EMU

My plan was to visit the town of Pompei, but unfortunately all the trains there were canceled. I took this line anyway to the last station served by this train.

Very simple design

Napoli San Giovanni-Barra station

All the trains continuing south from here were cancelled, so I went back to Naples

I will now visit the area around the station

It's a lot of traffic in town

Piazza Mancini

Naples is the third-largest city in Italy

The area next to the station is probably not the nicest one in town

The Santissima Annunziata Maggiore is a basilica church located in the quartieri Pendino near Forcella, in the historic centre of Naples, Italy.

Garbage everywhere

Basilica from the other side

Visiting a cafe next to the station

It's necessary to pay first at the cash desk, then order what you want. I had to take a photo to explain what I wanted to buy

I'm now taking the high-speed train, but only to the nearby Napoli Afragola station

ETR 500 at Napoli Afragola

Naples Afragola is an Italian high-speed railway station near Naples that was inaugurated on 6 June 2017, with regular traffic for passengers starting from 11 June 2017. The station is located in the city of Afragola, in the Naples metropolitan area, and was developed to serve all high-speed trains on the Rome–Naples high-speed line, aside from those that do not start or finish at Napoli Centrale station but instead operate over the Naples–Salerno high-speed line. (Wikipedia)

The station is designed by Zaha Hadid

The Rome–Naples high-speed railway line is a link in the Italian high-speed rail network. It opened from Roma Termini to Gricignano di Aversa on 19 December 2005. The final 25 kilometers from Gricignano to Napoli Centrale opened on 13 December 2009.

Construction of the line began in 1994. Between 2004 and 2005 a series of tests was carried out prior to the line being opened for commercial operations, to obtain approval for the line to be regularly operated at up to 300 km/h. During these tests, an ETR 500 train achieved a speed of 347 km/h. These speeds were made possible by the line's 25 kV AC railway electrification system (rather than the traditional Italian use of 3 kV DC), and the new signaling, control and train protection system provided by the European Rail Traffic Management System/European Train Control System (ETCS). It was the first railway line in Italy to be electrified at 25 kV AC at 50 Hz and the first in the world to use ETCS Level 2 in normal rail operations. (Wikipedia)

As many high-speed stations located outside the towns, they look quite deserted. The futuristic design is making it even worse.

Mount Vesuvius

The only way to access the station is to arrive with a high-speed train (or a car). It seems that there are platforms prepared for the local train service, but there are no tracks here.

My next train will take me to Salerno, but it's 40min delayed

There is an additional security at this station, the only way to access the platform is to show a valid ticket.

Finally, my train is arriving

The Naples–Salerno high-speed railway line (also known in Italian as the Linea a Monte del Vesuvio, meaning the "line up Mount Vesuvius") is a link in the Italian high-speed rail network opened in June 2008. The 29 kilometer-long line is one of the new high-speed lines being built to strengthen the rail transport system in Italy and in particular freight and passenger transport in Campania.
The infrastructure of the new line was completed in April 2008 with its electrification, which operates at 3 kV DC, not the 25 kV AC used on most new high-speed railways in Italy. It became available for training in May 2008 and for public operations in the following month. The line allows the reduction of congestion of rail traffic on the Naples–Salerno coastline, as trains can travel on the new line. (Wikipedia)