The Treno Notte: A Love Story
Tamtam – Tamtam – Tamtam
I lie awake, listening to the clatter of the wheels.
Tamtam – Tamtam – Tamtam
My train rushes south through a mild Italian September night.
Tamtam – Tamtam – Tamtam
It’s the year 2009, and I am 11 years old. Despite the soothing rhythm of the wheels, I can’t fall asleep because I’m too excited. Finally back on the night train! Finally heading south to southern Italy again!
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A first hint of adventure and wanderlust had already stirred when our blue-and-white Cisalpino tilting train pulled into Basel. On board, I heard Italian for the very first time, and before long my mother ordered her first real Italian espresso.
I was fascinated as I marveled at the countless bridges and tunnels in the mountain landscape while the train climbed the Gotthard north ramp. I watched how the houses changed as we passed through Ticino, and when we finally arrived at Milano Centrale, I felt as if I had entered another world.
The huge station hall, the crowds of people, the foreign language, and all the kitschy souvenirs captivated me completely. But after a good slice of pizza on the platform, the true highlight of my holiday journey arrived: the Treno Notte.
By night train to the south
Even though I lie awake with excitement, the Italian night train feels familiar. For as long as I can remember, my family has taken the night train to southern Italy once a year. Year after year, we would board the Treno Notte in Milano Centrale and travel to Lecce, in the heel of Italy, the Salento. For me, taking the night train has always meant holidays in Italy, and holidays in Italy have always meant the night train.
That’s why I’m already looking forward to the plastic-wrapped cornetto and the UHT milk the conductor will bring us the next morning. But for now, I listen to the clatter of the wheels.
Tamtam – Tamtam – Tamtam
Soon the night train will reach Rimini. But I won’t notice anymore. Full of anticipation for the morning and the vacation in the south, I finally fall asleep.
Five years later, and 500 rail kilometers further south, I wake up in the sleeping car just before six in the morning. Again, I’m excited, because this is my first night train trip without my parents. The journey feels like adventure and independence, like a step into adulthood. I am old enough to travel on my own, and I even get to share this experience with someone new. In the bunk above me, my best friend is still sleeping—he has never been to the sea and has never spent the night on a train. Together we are traveling back to the Salento, where my family has already been on vacation for a few days.
I push the blind up a little and blink sleepily out the window. Outside, the sea glides past, shimmering in the red sunrise. Long after this trip, it remained one of my happiest and most vivid memories.
The InterCity Notte of Trenitalia
Today, another 11 years later, I no longer wake up every time out of excitement when I take the night train. Now I sleep well in sleeping and couchette cars—earplugs and an eye mask ensure the necessary rest.
Especially on the Italian InterCity Notte, I feel at home by now. I still travel every year by night train from Milan to Lecce—now up to six times a year, since part of my family has settled in the Salento. In recent years, I’ve also explored many other corners of the country on the Treno Notte. From Trieste on the Slovenian border, Bolzano in South Tyrol, and Turin at the foot of the Alps, to Rome in the heart of the boot and Siracusa in Sicily—I’ve crossed Italy in every direction, discovering the country by night train.
Because largely unnoticed by many, Italy has a dense network of night train routes. On 15 lines, Trenitalia’s InterCity Notte trains connect the north and south of the country. The night trains to Sicily even travel by ferry!
The trains are affordable, reliable, and practical. All InterCity Notte services include sleeping and couchette cars, and apart from the trains to Sicily, they also have seated coaches. The rolling stock isn’t the newest, but thanks to regular refurbishments, it’s in better condition than many other night trains in Europe.
Even though the night train in Italy is now more routine than adventure for me, a trace of that childhood excitement is still there every time I board the sleeping car to Lecce in Milan.
Only the tamtam of the wheels is gone. Thanks to extensive upgrades of the Italian rail network, today’s night trains run relatively quietly, and that rhythmic tamtam has become rare.
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About the author
Noam Schaulin has traveled all over Europe by night train. As a member of the national board of Pro Bahn Schweiz, he advocates for public transport passengers.