Travelling by train in Sicily. Often with a sea view!
Brief information
Sicily is currently investing heavily in its railways and rolling stock. This is why Sicily scores highly with some newly laid lines that can be travelled at high speeds. The regional trains are very modern, especially in urban areas. They may not always be 100% on time, but you can generally rely on the journey times and should only allow 5-10 minutes extra time per route. Unfortunately, however, there are many towns and rural regions that have a train connection but are very poorly connected to hubs, as trains sometimes only run twice a day. It is therefore essential to find out in advance whether the train runs on the desired day and at what time.
Regional train routes in Sicily
In Sicily there are several train routes between the larger cities, but some rural regions are also well connected to the train network. An overview map of the most important train routes.
The train network in Sicily is good. There is often a busy train service between the major cities, but at weekends, especially on Sundays and public holidays, services are completely suspended on some lines (e.g. Gela-Siracusa) and other lines only run very rarely (e.g. Palermo-Catania). Rural regions do have a connection in some cases, but unfortunately the train very rarely runs there. The most important train connections are
1. Palermo-Catania Duration approx. currently 3h 50 min, due to rail replacement service from Dittanino to Catania (1h), every two hours
2. Siracusa (Catania) - Messina Duration approx. 2h 40 min by regional express (from Catania to Messina approx. 1h 25min by regional express, 1 to 2 hours from Siracusa and at least hourly from Catania)
3. Palermo - Messina: duration approx. 3h, every two hours; only long-distance trains at lunchtime
4. Palermo - Punta Raisi: duration approx. 49 min - 1h, every half hour
5th Circumetna: duration min. 3h 30 min, irregular timetable here.
Further routes:
Palermo-Agrigento: duration 2h 04min, hourly
Agrigento-Caltanissetta (Catania): Duration 1h 25 minutes, irregular journey times; 3 direct connections per day there mostly connection to replacement bus to Catania, timetables and tickets here.
Gela-Siracusa: duration min 3h 18 minutes, irregular; 3 direct connections per day, timetables and tickets here
Pirainteo-Trapani: duration at least 3h, irregular; only 2 direct connections per day
Interior of a regional train.
Long-distance trains in Sicily
In die (Groß-) Städte Palermo, Catania, Taormina-Giardini und Siracusa kommt man auch per IC (Intercity) oder ICN (Intercity Notte); die Kleinstädte und Dörfer auf dem Weg dahin werden teilweise angefahren. Es bestehen 2 Direktverbindungen von Siracusa und Palermo nach Roma und des Weiteren herrscht reger Nachtzugverkehr beispielsweise von Roma oder Milano (siehe Blog ab Milano).
Interior of an Intercity train.
Tickets
Regional trains: Tickets are usually very inexpensive and are sold for the respective route. For more flexibility, you can buy an "Italia in Tour" ticket. This is available for 3 or 5 days and costs 29-49 euros, depending on the number of days. For further information or to purchase the ticket, please contact click here and then click on "Promotions and Regional Services" and select either "Italia in Tour Adulto 3 giorni" (adult 3 days) or for five days. Children up to the age of 12 pay less. With this ticket you can then travel in 2nd class on all regional trains in Italy for the number of days booked. This ticket is highly recommended, but is only worthwhile if you travel a lot by train, as normal tickets are very cheap.
Long-distance trains: Here, too, tickets are comparatively very cheap and you enjoy a higher level of comfort than on regional trains. Tickets for long-distance and regional trains here.
Interrail is of course valid on all trains except the Ferrovia Circumetna. Book for long-distance and night trains.
From Capaci to Palermo
We travelled this route very often during our holiday to get to our accommodation. However, it is not only important as an accommodation transfer, but also interesting for anyone who wants to get to Palermo airport, as the train goes exactly there, namely to Punta Raisi. In the urban section in Palermo, the line is mostly underground, which means that it also serves as a kind of underground railway. Many neighbourhoods in Palermo can thus be easily reached. The "Palazzo Reale Orleans" station is often a good starting point for city tours in Palermo.
The "Pop" train from the outside.
The journey is quite unspectacular, but still worth a visit. After all, there is a kind of "regional underground train" here, which is a great way to reach the centre of Palermo.
From Palermo to Catania or Taormina-Giardini
One of the main attractions in Taormina: the ancient theatre!
1st part Palermo-Catania
This journey involves a change of accommodation in Sicily. As we have already seen enough of the sea on the outward journey, we decide to travel through the mountains and hills of Sicily. We take the train from Palermo to Dittaino and change to the replacement service there. The journey then continues from Catania to Tormina-Giardini.
We are travelling on a public holiday, which means there are only a limited number of trains on this route. To be precise: two trains that are suitable for us. We decide in favour of the departure from Palermo at around 14:30.
Shortly after Termini Imerese, the train turns off into the picturesque mountains of Sicily and slowly climbs with a gradient of up to 2.8%. While you enjoy the mountain scenery, you can already see parts of the new line to Catania, as construction is underway here. The main component is an 11 km long tunnel and the double-track extension of the line.
After the climb, the train turns off towards Caltanissetta shortly after Rocapalumba-Alia. Farms fly past the window and every now and then you can catch a glimpse of a small village. We drive through the "green belt" for a while and enjoy the views. A little later we arrive in Dittaino. There we have to change to the replacement bus.
After about an hour on the bus, we want to get off in Catania Fontanarossa/Airport and take the train (which comes from Siracusa) to Taormina. The friendly bus driver shows us the way to the airport, but I reply that we are travelling on by train. He just says "there is no train here, come with me to Catania Centrale." When I tried to explain to him that there is a train here, he didn't understand and insisted that we come with him to the main railway station. Incidentally, there wasn't a single Italian passenger on the bus. There were only a few Germans, French and British people on board.
Part 2 Catania-Taormina
We arrive at Catania Centrale and now the bus driver lets us go. We still have about half an hour until the train leaves. Some trains from Catania to Taormina run every 20 minutes and take around 30-60 minutes to complete the journey, depending on the number of stops.
The very busy train to Messina arrives on time and we wait almost 2 minutes until about 3 pushchairs and (it feels like) 100 people have got out of the door. We travel on another "pop train".
After about half an hour we reach Taormina at around 20:00. Attention! You have to walk up a very steep hill to the actual town, i.e. Taormina, which takes about 20-30 minutes. There are also bus shuttles from Trenitalia and the local transport operator in the region from the railway station to the town itself. In the summer season, you never have to wait long for a bus to arrive.
Once there, we go to the accommodation not far away, which I can highly recommend. Its name is Apartment Rachel and has "royal rooms" and a terrace on the 5th floor with a sea view. I can only highly recommend it.
Take the little Ferrovia Circumetna slow train around Mount Etna
1st part Taormina-Giardini - Giarre-Riposto
This small section can be travelled quickly by regional train (R) or regional express (RV). Some of these run every 20 minutes. We make our way to the station at around 7.50 am.
The train arrives at Taormina station at around 7.55 am. Another "pop train" :)
We quickly reach Giarre-Riposto. As we still have about 50 minutes to spare, we decide to walk to the very start of the slow train: Riposto. Another little anecdote until we board the actual train. There is a barrier at Giarre-Riposto station that has very unusual opening and closing times. As our regional train was still being overtaken by a regional express, our regional train still had a delay of 5 minutes. The barrier closes exactly 5 minutes earlier, i.e. when our regional train enters the main station. So you stand at the barrier and wait and wait and wait... and still wait. Then the regional express finally arrives and passes, but the barrier still doesn't go up because our regional train still has to pass, which it does a little later. 1 minute after both trains have passed, the barrier still doesn't go up because another train is probably coming. We've had enough of the eternal wait and discover a subway round the corner...
2nd part Riposto to Catania
Ticket prices and timetable information here.
Riposto railway station. Small and inconspicuous near huge blocks of houses.
Our train to Randazzo.
Exit at Riposto station, in the background you can see the gradient of the line.
Interior of the train. The windows can be opened very wide :)
Mount Etna will haunt us for the entire journey.
After Giarre, the route leads up into the mountains and offers breathtaking, wonderful views between orange and lemon plantations of the sea and the mountains... and Mount Etna.
It goes through palm groves.
There are also small bridges and tight bends along the route.
Here you can still see the solidified lava, which is now slowly growing back...
Such views are also standard.
The snow-covered slopes of Mount Etna.
Cooled lava fields accompany the route to Randazzo.
Arrival 1 hour later in Randazzo.
In Randazzo we have about 55 minutes until the train leaves for Catania, which prompts us to take a little stroll through Randazzo. 50 minutes later we arrive back at the station. A few impressions:
The journey continues on the next train to Catania. It climbs up to an altitude of almost 1000 metres and we pass pistachio fields and vineyards, travel through lunar landscapes and have magical views of the valleys. You can experience all of this on a journey on the Ferrovia Circumetna.
This time the train looks a little different.
Mount Etna. You can't see it long enough.
The route climbs.
Mount Etna is very close!
In lava fields.
This is followed by towns such as Adrano and Paternó, most of which are served by tunnels and where the train gets really full again. After a while we reach Catania Borgo. The terminus of the Circumetna. Once there, we have to continue our journey by underground. This is already included in the ticket and takes you to the main station (Giovanni XXIII) or to the city centre (Stesicoro).
In Catania Borgo.
Attention! The Circumetna train is not included in the Interrail Pass!!!
From Catania to Siracusa - "Time to say goodbye"
Trains run on this line approximately every one and a half to two hours on weekdays (there is no frequency) and take at least 1h 10 min to complete the section. Long-distance and night trains from Roma and Milan also run here.
This was one of our last journeys in Sicily. We had already come from Taormina and were now changing trains in Catania, on the way here we saw Mount Etna again:
This time we are travelling to Siracusa on a "blues train".
We board the very modern train in Catania. Shortly after boarding, it travels at high speed southwards towards Siracusa. A little later we stop in "Bicocca", where we are told that we have to wait for an oncoming train. The journey then continues with a few scenic highlights. I'll just let the pictures do the talking here:
Arrived in Siracusa!
The promenade in the harbour of Siracusa.
We arrive in Siracusa 10 minutes late. You have to walk a bit to get to the old town, but that never hurts :) There is also an archaeological park in Siracusa, which is well worth a visit.
Brief assessment of Sicilian rail transport
I think that Sicily's railway infrastructure is not too bad. As you can see, the administration is very keen to expand and modernise lines and provide regular services. Unfortunately, some parts of Sicily are very difficult to reach by train, while other towns have a train connection but are served at poor times. Nevertheless, it's worth leaving the car behind and travelling by train, because you can experience a lot on Sicily's railway lines, whether it's the sea view or the journey through the mountains. In conclusion, I can say that rail transport in Sicily is not "top", but it is far from being a "flop". In many major cities, the train connections are well coordinated, so travelling by train is very convenient.
Thank you for reading the blog. I hope I was able to help some of you a little further and describe the rail transport in Sicily well. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment!
Important links
Timetable: Trenitalia – Italienische Eisenbahn
Buy train tickets. Einzeltickets, siehe oben im Text. Oder „Italia in Tour“ für Regionalzüge ab 29 EUR: Trenitalia – Italienische Eisenbahn
Book a hotel in Sizilien: Booking.com
InterRail - a train ticket for the whole of Europe: InterRail
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