Palermo to Catania train with Regionale

Trains from Palermo to Catania

Trains from Palermo to Catania run throughout the day from the early morning to the early evening. Most of the trains that run this route take between about 3h 10min and 3h 30min, with a couple of others taking about 4h 45min and 5h 30min, respectively. The trains run at roughly two_hourly intervals, with 30min separating a few of them during peak time in the morning.

Palermo to Catania Train Time: Daily Departures

While trains from Palermo to Catania run throughout the day, due to the intervals between them, there are only about 10 a day – so you can travel from the Sicilian capital to this smaller town about 60 or so times a week, making allowances for a couple of fewer trains over weekends. The first train leaves from Palermo at just before 05:10, and the last one departs at around 19:45.

How long is the journey by train from Palermo to Catania?

Trains from Palermo to Catania can take anywhere from around 3h to about 5h 30min. depending on the time of day. The fastest trains leave Palermo and arrive in Catania just over 3h later, and you will also find a few that take from about 3h 15min to around 3h 30min, with a couple of trains taking over 4_5h. So you can expect an average travel time of around 3h 30min, once all are accounted for.

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Abbaye d'Abbeville. Source: Shutterstock

What are the departure and arrival stations for trains from Palermo to Catania?

Departure train station: All trains to Catania leave from Palermo Centrale Station. This is the largest train station in Sicily. It has wheelchair and step_free access, and you can also make use of its left luggage facility if you need to store some baggage. There are a couple of fast food stores and a newsagent. To get there from the centre of Palermo you can catch an RE train, to get there in about 18min. You can also get there in about 26min on the AMAT Palermo bus service, choosing Line 102 or 124.

Arrival train station: Trains from Palermo arrive at Catania Centrale Station, which is a national cultural heritage building in Sicily. It’s a completely electrified station and serves the local metro line, regional trains, and the island’s old narrow_gauge Circumetnea railway lines. It has a coffee bar and a few small convenience stores, but it’s a small building, so there isn’t room for much more. It’s really just an arrival and departure point, rather than being a bona fide train terminus. It will only take you about 4min to the city centre on an L_Ex line bus operated by Azienda Metropolitana Trasporti Catania Spa.

Which train companies travel from Palermo to Catania?

Trenitalia is the only train company operating trains from Palermo to Catania. This is one of Italy’s high_speed services, with very modern carriages. You can choose between its Regional Veloce and its Frecciabianca service, which won’t make any difference to your travel time, in they’re both high_speed models. You’ll only be required to make a single change on two of the trains on a day – otherwise, you’ll always be travelling directly to Catania. Your average travel time on most of these trains will be about 3h 30min, with some of them taking between 4h and 5h 30min. You’ll be able to book tickets on one of these trains throughout the day.

Trenitalia trains from Palermo to Catania

As mentioned, Trenitalia trains running from Palermo to Catania are all high_speed models, whether you choose its Regionale Veloce, Frecciabianca or Intercity service. All except two of them travel directly to Catania without any intervening stops. These leave from Palermo Centrale and head to Messina Centrale Station, where you’ll switch trains to finish the journey to Catania. The trains leave roughly every 2h, from the early morning through till late afternoon or early evening.

Train Palermo to Catania: Services on Board

No matter which Trenitalia train service you book with, Regionale Veloce, Intercity or Frecciabianca, you'll enjoy the same facilities. You can choose to travel First Class if you wish, or simply use the very comfortable and modern Second Class for this relatively short journey. The trains travel with bar carriages, which aren’t pubs, but snack and drinks bars. You can connect to the free Wi_Fi service with your laptop, tablet or mobile device, and this will also give you access to the Trenitalia FRECCE online entertainment portal. Here you can watch TV series and movies, get the latest news, or even track the progress of your own train trip if you like. There’s no luggage limit, but common convention dictates two large suitcases or similar in the hold and one bag or rucksack that you carry on with you. One of your luggage items can be a foldable bicycle or one that you’ve disassembled and bagged. Small pets in containers are welcome, and staff on board will assist with any mobility or accessibility needs.

Night trains Palermo

There aren’t any night trains available on the route from Palermo to Catania, unfortunately. There is an evening train, however, which leaves at around 19:45 from Palermo Centrale Station, arriving at Catania Centrale Station roughly 3h 10min later. It’s a direct train that doesn’t require any changes on the way.

Travelling by train: Sustainable journey

Trenitalia has a dedicated sustainability programme, part of which is ensuring that all of its trains are made with at least 20% recycled materials. As a consequence, the carrier’s trains use around 30% less energy than they otherwise would. They also use sophisticated KERS systems that recover kinetic braking energy and convert it into electrical energy, which the train then returns to the grid. This amounts to about 15% of the energy that the train uses on its trip.

How to find cheap train tickets from Palermo to Catania?

You can use two approaches to increase your chances of getting cheap train tickets from Palermo to Catania. The first is for those who like to make their travel plans well ahead of time – by booking far in advance you can often get early_bird discounts, designed to encourage people to start booking on new train trips as they become available. Or you can take the opposite approach by remaining completely flexible about when you travel so that you can immediately snap up discounts at the last minute due to other passengers having cancelled. You can also often save some money on train tickets by choosing longer trips, or routes that involve more stops or train changes.

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Abbaye d'Abbeville. Source: Shutterstock

To Catania by train—travel tips

Basilica Cattedrale Sant’Agata, the Cathedral of Catania, is known as the architectural masterpiece of the town. Originally built in 1078 and restored multiple times, it’s a blend of Baroque and Norman architecture. Castello Ursino is another major town landmark, a castle built in the 13th century by Emperor Frederick II of Sicily. Inside its walls, you’ll also find the Civic Museum of Catania, housing the entire collection of the town’s archaeological and historical artifacts. There’s also a very important collection of Roman and Hellenistic sculptures, plus pottery, mosaics, porcelain and ancient weapons. Catania’s main square, Piazza Del Duomo, is surrounded by more fine architecture, and it’s where people gather in cafés and restaurants. The normally fine warm weather lends itself to dining al fresco. Finally, Catania’s horizon is dominated by the huge Mount Etna – it’s the closest town in Sicily to the volcano. If you want to know more about what you can do in Catania and the rest of Sicily, have a read of the Omio online travel magazine, The Window Seat.

• Monastero dei Benedettini
• San Nicoló l’Arena
• The ruins of Teatro Romano
• The Monument Gate at Porta Garibaldi
• Parco Maestranze and Giardini Bellini town gardens
• Aci Castello
• The black volcanic rock beach at San Giovanni Li Cuti