Italo opens new lounge and expands intermodal network

Italian high-speed rail operator Italo has opened a new lounge for travellers at Bologna Centrale.

The new Club Lounge offers wifi, newspapers and ‘express catering’. Travellers will also be able to seek assistance at the lounge, which, according to the company, will provide “total relaxation and comfort”.

Italo said Bologna is a “strategic” destination in its local network, served daily with 81 connections to cities such as Rome, Milan, Florence, Naples, Turin and Venice.

The company, which also owns coach company Itabus, has also expanded its intermodal network with new international connections to Ljubljana and Zagreb.

The new international links, operating six times daily, will allow travellers to book a single ticket for both rail and bus services. Italo’s rail links will connect to Venice Mestre station, where buses will then connect to the respective Slovenian and Croatian capitals.

Italo CEO Gianbattista La Rocca, in statement, said the new services to Ljubljana and Zagreb “are only the first stages” of the group’s planned network expansion, with aims to grow its intermodal cross-border offering.

Italo president Luca Cordero, added: “Italo offers a truly integrated transport service – train, bus and we are now studying the synergies with ships, in light of the entry of MSC as the majority shareholder.”