Milano Centrale – Messina Centrale – Palermo
This is my third experience of a sleeper. I’d read a lot about this one, both good and bad. The focus of the latter is invariably the almost complete lack of catering, which on a 21 hour trip is not ideal. With this in the front of my mind, I had stocked up, perhaps too well on reflection!
I was surprised that there were no staff around to check people into the cabins. The carriage I was in, which was 7, came after carriages 6 and 8 as I walked down the platform, and I had been wondering if the windows were incorrectly labelled.
Room 41 in that carriage was set up for single traveller, and no-one else had claimed it, so I settled in. It looked clean and tidy, and the bed was both big enough and comfortable. The only negative was that the small reading light next to the bed wasn’t working so I had to have the main light on.
Oh, and all but one of the carriages (including mine) were the “wrong way around.” OK, not literally so but I was very much hoping that we would have the cabins on the coastal side as much of the route is almost on the waterfront, but the corridor was that side instead. On the other hand, having a view of the Italian countryside isn’t exactly a problem!
It was well after we had departed that my ticket was checked. It’s rare that rail staff have no English (and yes I do know that I shouldn’t expect that!) but we got by and I was relieved to have confirmation that I’d found the right spot.
The train picks up at multiple stations and 2 stops in an elderly gentleman got on board who was adamant that he was also meant to be in my cabin. I made it as clear as I could that he wasn’t. After briefly contemplating settling into the adjacent cabin, then a few minutes loudly repeating “43, 43” to himself (in Italian) as he paced up and down the corridor looking through every doorway, he headed off to a different carriage and I didn’t see him again.
The service was a bit stop-start, with what felt almost like emergency stops more than once, and we were running 45 minutes late after just two stops, having left on time.
The cabin lights flickered and went out around 11:30pm. I assume this was a fault related to the reading lamp problem as the night light didn’t stay on. It didn’t really bother me, though. It was of course dark outside but I was quite comfortable and passed the evening on my laptop and occasionally looking out of the window. I did try to film the section through Cinque Terre as my phone camera is very good in low light, but didn’t get any results.
I turned in for the night after La Spezia. Barring a quick look outside the window after Pisa, I pretty much slept through to the first stop at Salerno. We were still running 40 minutes late at that point.
I didn’t settle down again after that. I’d overheard a conversation the night before that breakfasts would be delivered around 7am. Looking down the corridor, I though the delivery of a morning paper to every cabin was a nice touch. The views outside weren’t too bad either!
Breakfast arrived at 8:30. A detail that had been lost in translation was that I would have tea, and it instead came with a coffee. It’s a very long time since I last drank a coffee; not a fan at all. A taste of this one didn’t change that opinion, but fortunately I also had juice on the tray, which was much nicer.
I spent the morning watching the world go by, enjoying both the countryside and the coast. We made up time and by the time we arrived at the crossing point onto Sicily were only 10 minutes late.
I’ve not done the crossing in this direction before. The loading process was the most efficient I’ve experienced of the three, and we were on our way in no time at all. The sight of the train inside the hold never gets boring and it was good to be on the ship that allows you to see it from above deck (some have closed holds.)
Clearly it gets warmer as you come south but I wasn’t expecting t-shirt weather, especially during the crossing, which was quite windy. Not hot, but really rather pleasant. Pretty much perfect for me, actually.
We unloaded at Messina with our section leaving first, then backing to pick up the other half from the other track. It then split in two again only a couple of train lengths away, as the train continues to both Siracusa and Palermo. The crossing had been so efficient that were now well ahead of schedule, but the train still has to wait for its booked time.
The Siracusa section departed first. Our departure time came and went. Then a sign went up saying 30 minute delay. One of the rail staff came through the train, speaking to each cabin and explaining there was a fault with the loco, they were trying to fix it, but didn’t know whether it would take 5 minutes or an hour.
Given that these trains are top and tailed i.e. a power car on both ends (two extra power cars had joined us after the crossing, now that the service had split.) It seemed very odd as we now only had 5 carriages which a single loco should be able to move easily along the very flat route to Palermo. There was also plenty of other traction around. The pair in the third picture below came past us as we waited and could easily have hauled the service, for example.
Eventually, and unsurprisingly, word came that the train was going nowhere. We would have to pack our bags and join the next service train. 5 sleeper cars worth of passengers, all with plenty of luggage decanted themselves onto the relevant platform and after a short wait were shoehorned onto the train, much to the concern of the train manager who wasn’t at all impressed.
In such cramped conditions the journey wasn’t much fun. I was facing forward but was on the inland side of the train again, so once more missed the views of the coast. About half way to Palermo the driver was changed. The original driver came and sat next to me and a new driver (and what looked like his maybe 12 year old daughter) took over in the cab!
We eventually reached Palermo at 17:25, which is less than half an hour late. Not bad given the problems from the start.
I checked in to my hotel and made contact with my friend Gilly, who had arrived here a couple of days earlier. We planned to meet up for dinner in the historic town centre. I know this city reasonably well, having stayed here twice before. It’s a lovely place.
We ate outside, in a little street cafe. I had caponata di melanzane as a starter, a very traditional Sicilian dish which I’d discovered the first time I was in Palermo. They love aubergine (“melanzane”) here, which is just fine by me.
Afterwards we went for a walk and I had my favourite stracciatella ice cream and Gilly had granite (the Sicilian take on sorbet.)
I’m certainly never going to starve in Sicily!
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