Dec 15, 2008

Comparing Italian propaganda with French grandeur

These days everybody in Italy is excited about the fast train connection between the two main cities, Rome and Milan. If you believe the Italian media, the "Frecciarossa" train on this route is a technological jewel without rivals. Needless to say, this is not true. It takes two minutes to check it: The journey between Rome and Milan takes 3 hours 30 minutes to cover 632 km, averaging a speed of 180.57 km/h (Sources: http://www.temporis.info/mobinaut_distanzeferroviarie.htm for distance and www.trenitalia.it for the timetable). Compare it with the journey between the two main French cities, Paris and Marseille. The journey from Paris to Marseille covers a distance of 783 km; it takes at most 3 hours 18 minutes (for an average speed of 237.27 km/h), and at least 3 hours 2 minutes (for an amazing average speed of 256.72 km/h (Sources: http://www.theirearth.com/index.php/news/tgv-paris-to-marseille-in-3-hours and www.sncf.fr). The Italian "high-speed" train is like my Toyota Yaris 1.3 compared to an AUDI 3.0 turbo.
Therefore, it should cost less, right? Of course not! I randomly selected a day in January, Thursday 14, for a comparison. A single trip between Milan and Rome would cost me no less than €54, with four available choices between 6:15 and 7:15am. Price per km: €0.085. A single trip between Paris and Marseille would cost me €45 on any of the 6 trains available in the morning and €34.90 for a train in the afternoon or in the evening. Price per km: €0.057 in the morning, €0.045 in the afternoon/evening. That is, half price with respect to the Italian train.
To sum up: The French high-speed train is faster, cheaper and much more frequent than the Italian one. Not to mention the fact that there is availability of high-speed trains between virtually any two French cities, while in Italy the connections between most cities are served by old, dirty, slow and overcrowded trains.

5 comments:

Pierre-Louis said...

come on Cosimo, prices never never reflect quality, we know that! why is fruit in ital y cheaper than in Switzerland then?

cosimo said...

Come on, don't tell me that such a price spread can be justified by quality! Do you think of quality when you compare British Airways and Lufthansa for a trip to London? I can confidently assume the two trains offer the same quality. I cannot believe that the Italian train will be significantly more comfortable than the French (the Paris-Marseille line is served by the best trains available to the company).

Pierre-Louis said...

I wrote prices never reflect quality!!! by quality I meant speed! and more precisely that more speed should not come with higher prices...

fruit: better quality in Italy than Switzerland, but cheaper
trains: faster in France, but cheaper

cosimo said...

I got it. So low quality high price is being sold to Italians as high quality low price. Like Migros tomatoes.

Sebastian said...

Hamburg - Munich, roughly 750 km, fastest connection 5:30 hours, price 127 Euros !!!!