What is the Sicilia Express, the holiday train that goes from Piedmont to Sicily and enhances slow tourism (at reduced prices)

The Sicily Express is the new project of Italian Tourist Trains in collaboration with the Sicilian Region, designed for connect Turin to Messina during the Christmas holidays. The initiative, strongly supported by governor Renato Schifani, aims to offer an affordable travel option and exciting for Sicilians living in the North who wish to return home for Christmas.

The service initially included a single way, the December 21stand a single return, the January 5with tickets at a controlled cost starting from 29.90 euros for seats, 39.60 for a bunk for four people, 49.90 for double rooms and 129.90 for single bed rooms. The train will depart on December 21st at 3.05pm from Turin Porta Nuova station and will reach Messina the following morning at 9.45amcrossing Italy on an 18-hour journey that celebrates the philosophy of slow tourism.

After the stop in Messina, the convoy will be divided into two sections: one headed to Palermo and the other to Syracuse, arriving respectively at 1.35pm and at 1.15pm. The intermediate stops touch some of the main Italian cities, including Milan, Bologna, Rome and Salerno.

On board, passengers will live an unusual and particular experience: the journey will be enriched by artistic performances, stories from Sicilian actors and influencers and tastings of typical products. Two restaurant carriages will be available where it will be possible to taste Sicilian food and wine. The aim is to give passengers a preview of the island atmosphere during the journey.

Tickets sold out in a few minutes, a second train is being considered

But obviously like everything in Italy there is a “but”. Despite the enthusiasm for the initiative, in fact, there was no shortage of controversy. The project was criticized for its limited capacity (544 seats) and for the impossibility of purchasing tickets on dates other than those scheduled.

Furthermore, some have raised doubts about the effectiveness of an experiential train as a response to the problem of expensive flights, which every year penalizes Sicilians away from home. The Region, however, has defended the initiativeunderlining the symbolic and practical value of an economic and alternative option.

Controversy aside, the service has attracted great interest. The 540 tickets including 10 for influencers and actors – on sale from midnight on 3 December – they sold out in less than half an hour not even if they were the ones for a highly coveted concert even though many complained that they couldn’t find them even a few minutes later and the site soon went haywire.

And so this success pushed the regional authorities to plan a second train for the holidayswith the aim of offering a new opportunity to the many excluded even if for the moment no official dates have been released. In short, it seems that the idea of enhance rail transport as a sustainable and accessible solution (especially economically) to connect Sicily to the rest of Italy was successful.