Italy will offer a special rail service this Easter with the return of the Sicilia Express

 Italy will offer a special rail service this Easter with the return of the Sicilia Express, a sleeper train that links the northern city of Turin with the island of Sicily.

The aim of the direct service - which debuted last Christmas and sold out in a few hours - is to give Sicilians based in the north a low-cost way to travel home for Easter with an alternative to flights which can be very expensive during holiday periods.

As part of the increased Sicilia Express offer, there is a new train-ferry service via Naples, as well as an integrated bus connection to Turin for those living in the northern Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions.

There are more than 1,000 seats available in total: 560 for the Sicilia Express, and 472 tickets for the "intermodal" offer, the result of a collaboration between the Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) ferry company and rail provider Italo.

"We have kept our promise" - the Sicily region president Renato Schifani said - "After the great success of Christmas, we have chosen to continue to support all those Sicilian students and workers living outside the island who wish to return home for the holidays."

Sicilia Express

The 18-hour train service, organised by Italy's FS Treni Turistici, will leave Turin on 17 April and return from Messina after the Easter holidays on 26 April 2025.

The train will depart from Turin Porta Nuova at 12.30 on 17 April and will stop at Milan Porta Garibaldi (14.10), Parma (15.42), Modena (16.20), Bologna Centrale (16.55), Florence Santa Maria Novella (18.13), Rome Tiburtina (22.32), Salerno (01.26) and arrive in Messina Villa San Giovanni at 05.33.

After the train arrives in Sicily, crossing the Strait of Messina aboard a ship, the rail service splits into two directions: one headed to Palermo in the north-west and the other to Siracusa in the south-east.

The Palermo route stops at Messina (07.55), Milazzo (08.57), Capo d’Orlando (09.38), S. Stefano di Camastra (10.20), Cefalù (10.49), Termini Imerese (11.07), Bagheria (11.23), arriving at its final destination, Palermo Centrale, at 11.36.

The Siracusa route stops at Taormina (09.15), Giarre Riposto (09.37), Acireale (09.50), Catania Centrale (10.09), Lentini (10.30), Augusta (11.00) and arrives in Siracusa at 11.23.

The ticket costs €29.90 per journey and there are 560 seats available, with pets allowed to travel under certain conditions.

The train has two dining cars offering traditional Sicilian food and wine, with a €25 menu.

Train-ferry option

The train-ship service allows travellers to depart by train from Turin, with stops in Milan, Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Florence and Rome, as far as Naples, where they will board a GNV ferry to Palermo.

The journey begins on 17 April, departing from Turin at 11.30 on board the Italo train 9935, arriving in Naples central station at 17.43. The GNV ship leaves the port of Naples at 20.00, arriving in Palermo at 07.30 the following morning.

The return voyage is on the evening of 21 April with the ferry leaving the port of Palermo at 07.30, arriving in Naples at 07.00 the next morning, with the Italo train 9924 to Turin departing at 09.20.

For this option, there are 472 seats available, with the cost per journey ranging from €30 to €39.

Tickets

Tickets for the Sicilia Express go sale from 5 April via the Sicilia Express website and through Trenitalia sales channels.

Tickets for the train-ferry service can be purchased from midday on 8 April via the call centre 060708, with further details available on the Regione Sicilia website.