I like travelling on rail networks overseas and I haven’t been on the Italian system much, so I thought that I’d have a little day trip from Genoa to Rapallo. It probably wasn’t the best idea to be taking the train for an hour in the opposite direction to the airport where I was getting an evening flight from, but I like a bit of drama.
This is Genova Brignole, the second largest station in the city and it opened here in 1868 although the current building dates to 1905. It’s spacious, grand and functional, with a ticket office and more helpfully to me, numerous ticket kiosks.
Mine was the 11:24 train to Sestri Levante. The eagle eyed one of my two readers will note that there’s an earlier train, but long experience has cautioned me against rushing for these things and making a mistake.
I went to the platform and realised that the ticket validators were all downstairs, so if I had rushed for my train I wouldn’t have possibly realised this.
My now validated ticket.
The station sign and there was an absence of staff anywhere, the only one that I saw was in the ticket office.
It was too hot, but I don’t like to go on about these things.
And here comes the Caravaggio train built by Hitachi, but better known as the Rock. They’re two tier trains and they look shiny and exciting.
Most of the power sockets were broken, but fortunately I found a working one so that I was charged up for the day. The train was clean, there were no visible guards, but the information screens were clear and informative. There were also some pleasant views along the coast as we swept along what is apparently known as the Italian Riviera.
And safely into Rapallo railway station, with the ticket costing around £4. I thought that this was reasonable and the train was on time, with the whole arrangement being easy and efficient. The return journey wasn’t, but more on that later.