Social Media Train – Frecciarossa

Cool initiative from “Ferrovie Dello Stato”, the italian railways and train operator, in collaboration with Social Media Week Rome.

On February the second, during the social media week, a special “Frecciarossa” train -the Italian high speed train, traveling at 300+Km/h between Milan and Rome- will leave Milan at 9,15 to reach Rome at 12.45 after having stopped at Bologna and Firenze. The return train will leave Rome at 16,15 and arrive at Milan at 19,45. The train usually takes just a couple of minutes less than 3hours from Milan to Rome, when it doesn’t stop at Bologna and Firenze.

I understand the registration was free – too late to get any tickets, the train is sold-out. On board the Frecciarossa, to celebrate the social media week, there will be quite a few guests of the social media space, including my friend Mauro Lupi, an internet veteran. He’s kind of a usual guest on the Frecciarossa, commuting on a weekly basis from Rome -where he lives- and Milan -where he works (and where we have our aperitives).

During the few hours staying in Rome, you will be showed around at the Roma Termini control room, where all the trains are tracked and controlled from.

I shall say this is a smart social media marketing initiative from Ferrovie dello Stato, linking railways with social media and high speed trains. Guess updates on what’s goin’on the train will be twitted out on @SMWRME, and possible posted on Facebook fan pages.

If you Google the event, you’ll notice there is quite some buzz out there. And I guess the cost of running a Frecciarossa from Milan to Rome is not something Ferrovie Dello Stato cannot bear compared to the publicity it is getting. Surely a manageable ticket to connect a seemingly old world (Railways!) with the cool social media space.

If only Ferrovie dello Stato had twitter accounts announcing train delays, the whole thing would go full circle.

Check it out here.