Train Travel in Italy

Getting around Italy is not a challenge if you take advantage of the country’s intricate rail network. Taking the train in Italy can really beat driving, especially if you are concentrating on cities with train stations and if Italian drivers scare you a little bit (with good reason). The other bonus of train travel in Italy is that it is relatively inexpensive and easy to figure out. There are a few basic tips, however, for riding the rails in Italy. In this article you will find information about the kinds of trains you can take in Italy, the pros and cons of getting a RailPass in advance as opposed to buying point-to-point tickets, interpreting the Italian train schedules, buying your train tickets and reservations, how to validate your ticket and board your train.

>> And whether you’ve been to Italy several times or you’re planning your first trip, you’ll want to check out my Italy first-time visitor guide to make the most of your planning process.

Types of Trains in Italy

There are several kinds of trains operating in Italy, often on the same tracks and serving many of the same cities, but they can vary widely in price and speed. As long as you know what to look for, you will never get caught out thinking you are paying for one and getting the other.

• Eurostar (ES) - This is not the same train that runs from Paris to London. Instead, it is Italy’s most luxurious style of train. The Eurostar is fast, quiet, air-conditioned, comfortable and expensive. It will only run between the larger cities, so if you are going from Venice to Rome it is a good option - but for reaching a smaller town outside one of the main cities you will need to change trains. It can be an excellent choice if your time is more limited than your budget and you are trying to cover a lot of ground. The Eurostar always requires a reservation in advance along with your ticket, guaranteeing you not just a seat but a specific seat.
• InterCity (IC) - The next step down are the InterCity trains, which also cover long distances and serve the bigger cities in Italy, although they are not as fast as the Eurostar trains and therefore not as expensive. Reservations are sometimes required and always suggested, so check with the ticket agent when you buy the ticket about whether you will also need a reservation.
• InterRegionale (IR), Regionale (R), and Diretto (D) - These are the smaller and slower trains which connect Italy’s smaller towns with the big cities. They make more frequent stops, and many do not even have air conditioning or first class cars as an option. On the plus side, they are quite cheap and if your journey is a short one they are the perfect choice.

>> In late 2008, Italy introduced a new line of high-speed trains called the Alta Velocita, or AV network - it’s not available everywhere, but if you’ve got more money than time to spend on your holiday, it can really cut down on your travel time.

If cost is a big factor for you, second class is usually perfectly fine for travelers. On commuter trains during rush hour, or between two tourist cities in the height of the summer travel season, seats might be harder to find as second class cars get more crowded. Generally, first class is less crowded, and it is not too much more expensive (except on the Eurostar where the price jump is dramatic) - so is worth considering if you want to try to give yourself a bit more leg and elbow room. First class is where you will often find tourists who travel with more luggage than they can carry on their backs.

>> More information on first class vs. second class on trains in Italy

RailPass vs. Point-to-Point Tickets in Italy

The first question to ask yourself when trying to decide whether to purchase an Italy RailPass in advance or just buy point-to-point tickets when you arrive in Italy is what kind of train travel you will be doing. If all your trips will be on expensive Eurostar or InterCity trains, it might be cost-effective to purchase a RailPass and then only buy reservations at the stations for the trips which require them. If you are unsure of your particular route, or you anticipate taking shorter train journeys instead of longer ones, it is generally cheaper to just wait until you get to Italy and buy point-to-point tickets as you go.

Reading the Train Schedule

In every Italian train station you will find large postings of the daily train schedules - “Arrivi” are the Arrivals and “Partenze” are the Departures, and usually Arrivals are on white paper while Departures are on yellow or gold. Once you find the “Partenze” schedule, locate the train you want to take - you will see the intermediate stops the train will make along the way and the times that particular route is run during the day. There will also be other notations indicating whether the train allows bicycles or has provisions for wheelchair access, and you should be sure to check the column with special - it could tell you if a train has significant schedule differences on weekends or holidays. Also note the final stop on the route you will be taking, as this is how the train will be identified elsewhere.

There will be large Arrivals and Departures boards overhead which will show the most recent arrivals and the departures coming up - this is where you will get the specific information about which track your train will depart from. This is where you will need to have noted the final destination on your train’s route, as it will be that city listed on the overhead board. The track number (binario or BIN) will be indicated on the overhead board along with the departure time and type of train.

Buying Train Tickets and Reservations

First of all, you might wonder - what is the difference between a ticket and a reservation, anyway? It is a fair question. When we buy a plane ticket, we need nothing else to board the plane. With trains in Italy (and throughout Europe, for that matter), the system is different. Buying a ticket merely means you have paid for a journey between two points. It does not have any association with a specific date or time, and most trains in Italy require nothing more than a valid ticket for transport. Some trains, however, also require a reservation - which guarantees you a specific seat on a specific train on a specific day and time. Eurostar trains are the only ones which always require a reservation, and most of the smaller trains on shorter journeys do not even have reservations. If you are in doubt about whether the particular train you are taking requires a reservation, ask at the ticket window or train information desk.

If you have an Italy RailPass, that is the same thing as if you had purchased your ticket already, so for most trains in Italy you will need to do nothing more than hop on a train and find a seat. You will need to have your RailPass validated by a ticket agent before boarding your first train, but after that you will just need to show it to the ticket checker on the train each time. If you need to purchase a reservation for a journey but you already have your RailPass, be sure to bring it with you to show the ticket agent so they know precisely what you will need to purchase.

If you are buying point-to-point tickets, you have a few options. You can go to a ticket window and talk to a real person to buy your tickets, but often the lines are long (especially during the busy season) and the agents can be abrupt. (If you have lots of questions, go to the train information window instead so as not to take up too much of a busy ticket agent’s time.) For a quicker experience, try using the train station’s automatic ticket machines. At least one of the machines will usually take credit cards, and they speak several languages! During peak times these, too, can have waiting lines - so try to be considerate of the commuters queuing behind you by being prepared to make your purchase quickly once it is your turn. And if you will be changing trains midway through your journey, remember to get a ticket for each leg of the trip itself.

In some cities you can also get tickets for the slow, regional trains at the tabaccaio, or tobacconist’s shop, in or near the train station. While you are there, pick up some postcards and stamps (francobolli), too, so you can write home while you watch the countryside drift past your train window.

You can purchase train tickets and reservations up to two months in advance of your actual trip, so if you are in a busy city during the peak summer travel season, you might pop into the train station a couple days before your actual travel date in order to purchase whatever you need without worrying about missing your train.

Don’t Forget to Validate that Ticket!

Once you have your ticket in hand, find yourself a ticket validating machine. This is of the utmost importance, because a ticket that has not been validated before you board the train will yield a fine once the conductor comes around. The “stupid tourist” defense does not work as well as you might hope it will, so proceed with caution here. The ticket validation machines are everywhere in Italian train stations, and they are usually yellow or orange.

Getting on the Train

If you have a reservation, find the car number on your reservation (carozza) and the seat number (sedia). Then locate the corresponding car number on the train and hop on. First class cars will all have a large number “1″ near the door, and second class cars will have a number “2″. The style of train will determine whether your seat is in a compartment or a car with a center aisle, but you should not have trouble figuring out which seat is yours. If you find someone in your seat, just show them your reservation and they will move - this is fairly common, as most Italians do not make reservations and will just hop on the train and wait for someone to tell them the seat is reserved. If you are not running to catch your train, it is always better to find your specific car before boarding - think small aisles, large bags and two-way traffic and you will understand why.

If you do not have a reservation, the only thing you have to look for is the class of car that corresponds to the ticket you have purchased - if you are traveling first class, look for the cars with the “1″ by the door, and if you are in second class, look for the “2″ by the door. Then simply get on and find a spare seat. If you are not sure whether a seat is available, you can ask people sitting nearby by pointing at the seat and saying, “Libero?” or “Occupato?” (”Free?” and “Taken?”, respectively.)

Some trains, especially the faster ones, will have luggage compartments at the end of each car where you can leave your bigger bags so as not to haul them through the narrow aisles. Most trains will have overhead racks for bags which you can actually lift, and in trains where there are seats situated back-to-back there are small spaces between seatbacks where you can stow smaller bags.

The official website of the Italian train service, Trenitalia, is here.

photo at top by Omer Simkha