March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina. After visiting Syracuse, Catania and Palermo, we return to Rome, and home. With 25,832 km², Sicily is only 20% smaller than Belgium (30,689 km²). Quite a lot in four days.
Why did we fly to Rome and not to Palermo or Catania in Sicily? Because we wanted to travel on the Intercity Notte, the Night InterCity train service of Trenitalia. Also, this service crosses the Strait of Messina with a ferry. The last place where you can experience this. Unfortunately, this happens around 4 to 5 AM so you don’t really experience the ferry.
As the InterCity Notte to Syracuse or Siracusa contains Superior, formerly Excelsior, compartments, we booked one. The Superior compartment includes an ensuite bathroom with toilet, sink and shower.
Intercity Notte?
Intercity Notte (ICN) trains are Trenitalia’s overnight services that connect major cities across Italy, offering an alternative to daytime travel.
These trains run on long routes such as:
- Rome to Bolzano / Bozen via Florence, Bologna, Verona, Rovereto and Trento;
- Milan to Lecce via Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Bari and Brindisi;
- Turin to Lecce via Alessandria, Voghera, Piacenza, Bologna, Pescara, Foggia and Bari;
- Reggio di Calabria to Turin via Naples, Rome, Livorno, La Spezia and Genoa.
Since most journeys take between 10 and 15 hours, these trains operate predominantly at night, but their day-time sections also serve as supplementary connections to Intercity daytime services.
ICN trains offer a variety of accommodation options to suit different preferences and budgets. Seating cars have standard 2+2 arrangements, similar to those on regular Intercity trains, but these are considered less comfortable for overnight travel. A more restful alternative is the couchette car, where compartments feature four air-conditioned berths equipped with pillows, sheets and blankets.
These are often mixed-sex unless the entire compartment is booked by a group or family. Passengers receive complimentary mineral water, with newspapers and fruit juice provided in the morning.
For added comfort and privacy, sleeping cars offer single, double or triple compartments, with bedding and a washbasin provided. While washrooms are available, there are no showers on board except in the now largely phased-out Excelsior carriages. These sleeping cars include traditional WLABm Tipo MU coaches, which have been maintained and updated for modern use.
In 2017, Trenitalia introduced a new livery for its Intercity and Intercity Notte trains. The design for the ICN features a dark blue body (RAL 5013), grey roof (RAL 7031), red doors and horizontal stripe (RAL 3010), and grey skirting and underframe (RAL 7021). Service-level logos in pearl white (RAL 9010) complete the look. The style reflects a move towards a unified and modern visual identity, similar in tone to Austria’s ÖBB Nightjet trains, which also run in Italy.
At Rome Thermal Baths
Roma Termini or Rome Thermal Baths (IATA: XRJ) is the main railway station in Rome. It takes its name from the surrounding district, which itself was named after the ancient Baths of Diocletian (in Latin, thermae), located just across the street from the station’s main entrance. It is the busiest railway station in Italy and the fifth-busiest in Europe, handling approximately 150 million passengers annually, with around 850 trains passing through each day.
The station features a full shopping centre with shops and eating options. There is a supermarket in the basement, a Conad.
To get to the platforms, you need to pass access gates. So bare that in mind. Roma Termini is huge so allow enough time to reach your platform.
Our Superior compartment
What does the Superior compartment look like? Three beds, of which two were made for us. The middle bed is just placed too low to make it comfortable to sit on the lower bed. At the bedsides there’s a foldable tablet and cupholder.
The beds are made, but you need to wrap your pillow in a pillowcase yourself.
There is one free seat and a table. There are many lights options and plenty of power outlets. I counted five. There are also USB-A ports.
The bathroom is quite large for a train and the shower has a sliding door so no ‘wet bathroom’ concept. The water pressure is high. Water could be warmer, but the temperature is okay.
Amenities
Which amenities do yo get on board? A set of towels: large towel, small towel and foot mat. The toiletries bag contains hard soap, shower gel and shampoo, a dental kit, an eye mask and a wet towel. The toiletries bag is not a keeper: it ‘loses hairs’.
We also got a bottle of water and a small bottle of prosecco each. And a couple of cups. Keep the water to brush your teeth.
Breakfast
Breakfast consisted on an array of pre-packed items. Biscuit-like foods and rusk with some jam. There was pomegranate juice and a shot of coffee. Our first (and only?) coffee of the year.
Nothing fancy, really, but we were fed.
Our journey
While our journey started with a delay of 80 minutes because of animals on the tracks, we arrived on time in Syracuse.
This train stops in Naples and Catania, amongst other stops. But we weren’t actively aware of these stops. Except Catania.
We slept quite well. The shunting to get on and off the ferry woke us up, but we decided against getting out, even for photos. The bed was too comfortable for it. Because yes, I quite liked the firm mattress and pillow.
Airconditioning didn’t work well and it was hot, but all in all it was a good night.
So?
Honestly, this night train experience was better than the European Sleeper or the Nightjet. It’s a shame the Superior compartments are being phased out (according to Mark Smith, The Man in Seat 61).
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