Using trains in Italy

I understand that train tickets must be validated before you start a journey in Italy.

Can you take a break in a train journey for couple of hours at a station on the way and then continue your journey? Do you then validate the ticket again when you continue the journey? Is there a time limit on a ticket & if so how do you know what it is?

Any advice welcome.

Yes you can.

At least, sometimes you can.

For instance, you can break a Livorno / Florence journey at Pisa. On the way out or on the way back. You have to complete that journey within 6 hours - that's six hours for a one-way journey, you don't have to be back in Livorno within 6 hours of leaving Livorno.

After original validation, I didn't re-validate. But that's not to say I wasn't supposed to :rolleyes:

I did the same thing at Naples - bought a train ticket for Sorrento to Naples, stopped off at Ercolano to visit the Herculaneum site, then finished the journey to Naples on a later train - all on the one ticket.

But when I mentioned this on CC I was rebuked (in the nicest possible way ;)) by a knowledgeable regular - I think it was Eurocruiser - who said that the break-your-journey facility doesn't apply to that journey.

It's quite difficult to figure, because at no time have my tickets ever been checked at Italian stations or on Italian trains. They rely on honesty and random checks.

First time I took a Civitavecchia train to Rome I didn't validate my ticket at the station - I was rushing to get a train & reckoned to validate it on the train.

No validation on the trains for that journey, it has to be done at the station. :eek:

So for the whole journey I was pretty nervous about getting a big fat fine, but no-one checked.

Didn't have the same worry with Sorrento - Herculaneum - Naples, cos I didn't learn the error of my ways until weeks later :D

You need to quote the particular journey you have in mind - and get a definitive answer from someone who knows. Not someone who thinks they know :o

JB :)

Thank you for the rapid reply JB.

The journey that I was thinking about (first port on our first ever cruise!) was Livorno to Lucca or Lucca to Livorno, stopping for an hour or so in Pisa, using San Rossare station if it's on the return journey..all dependent on train times.

You can break the journey from Livorno to Lucca with a stop in Pisa because this is a regional Trenitalia train.

The problem with the Naples - Sorrento trip is that it is on the Circumvesuviana, a completely different company with different rules. While there is a ticket that allows you to break the journey (an Integrato) it doesn't allow sufficient time for most people to have a satisfactory visit.

Can I buy train tickets for Regional trains in advance?

I was wondering if I could buy Livorno/Lucca tickets the day before in Genoa Principe Station, as it doesn't look too far from the Stazione Marrittima, Then I might avoid possible ticket queues at Livorno Centrale.

When you buy a Regional train ticket in Italy is it for a train route or a particular train? Can you use a Livorno/Lucca ticket for a train leaving Livorno at any time?

If you buy a regionalé train ticket in Italy you can use it on any regionalé train within a certain number of days, it's a fairly long period of time, at least 28 days. You have to validate it on the day you use it though and then you have so many hours to get to your destination, you will always have enough time to stop off for an hour or two somewhere before continuing on your journey, if the conductor checks your ticket he/she is not bothered about the time you validated your ticket just the date. If you get a Frecciarossa, frecciabianca or frecciargento train you will ALWAYS have a certain train you need to get, these are the fast trains that go from the mainline stations, you can't break your journey on these trains. Be aware the regionalé trains are a lot slower, stopping at every station along the way. He this is helpful.

Hope this is helpful even, blast auto correct!

Thank you all. Really helpful replies.

When you buy a Regional train ticket in Italy is it for a train route or a particular train? Can you use a Livorno/Lucca ticket for a train leaving Livorno at any time?

You can use it on any regionale or regionale veloce train but not on IC or Frecce trains which also stop at Livorno.

Your ticket is for a specific route (Livorno to Lucca) but not for a specific train time. You may, as noted above, break the trip if you wish but you must complete the entire trip within six hours of validating the ticket (more detail here if interested, in Italian, under the heading "validità": http://www.trenitalia.com/cms-file/allegati/trenitalia_2014/area_clienti/4_Utilizzo_convalida_e_validita_dei_titoli_di_viaggio_tcom2014.pdf)

NOTE: Importantly, these rules only apply to tickets purchased in person in Italy, not on-line tickets. You can purchase them at any station in Italy.

Huge fan of trains in Europe. We (me and DH) were in Italy for a week or so last summer and used the train the whole time. I bought point to point tickets when we wanted to take a break at a certain location. (i.e. we took a 3 1/2 hr layover at Pisa from our journey from Florence to Rome.) It was cheaper for us that way and we didn't feel pressured in case my ticket wouldn't be valid. We didn't even know we had to validate tickets until we were "caught" at Florence. We were charged about 5 euros fine. Residents pay far higher fines. Other countries we visited were not that way at all, only Italy. Small price, though.

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, once you buy a train ticket, you still have to validate it before getting on the train?

I'll be doing quite a few train trips for my cruise and want to make sure I'm doing it right. First Rome to Florence, with a pit stop in Pisa. Then, Rome to Venice and then Venice to Milan. If someone can assist, I'd greatly appreciate it! This trip planning is daunting as this is my first European cruise, but it's exciting! :D

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, once you buy a train ticket, you still have to validate it before getting on the train?

 

I'll be doing quite a few train trips for my cruise and want to make sure I'm doing it right. First Rome to Florence, with a pit stop in Pisa. Then, Rome to Venice and then Venice to Milan.

It depends.

Not the clear answer you were probably hoping for, sorry.

The deciding factor is the type of train you are on.

Regional trains, which do not have seat reservations, require validation of tickets right before boarding the train. This is because the ticket is general, it's not for a specific train or date, just for travel between the two cities. If it wasn't validated you could theoretically use the same ticket several times over, until a conductor happened to catch you, at which time you could claim "I forgot/I didn't know/I was running late and just jumped on/etc.).

All other trains (Intercity, Frecce) have reserved seats - a specific seat on a specific train - and the ticket can only be used on that train. These tickets could not be reused so they don't need to be validated.

Also, if you purchase your ticket on line it does not need to be validated since you don't have a physical ticket. In this case you simply print out (or have on your smart phone) the reservation and show it to the conductor when asked.

Most, but NOT all, trains to and from Civitavecchia (the port) are regionals and these tickets would need to be validated.

The Italian train system and all its regulations are very confusing .

1. Pre purchase a dated ticket including a seat reservation on a specific date and train , then you dont validate it .

2. Buy a ticket for a local train (without seat reservation) and you validate it just the first time you board a train that day . All the validation does is show staff that the ticket has been validated for that day . Otherwise the young hoons ride on the same ticket over and over again . However on the Cinque Terre Mussolinis daughter was checking the tickets so the youngster saw the old dragon coming and took off up the train, but another dragon from Trenitalia was approaching from the other end of the train and the hoons were caught in a pincer movement . They were last seen in the hands of the railway polizia being escorted to the paddy wagon !.

To be fair, the Italian train system and regulations are no more confusing than most others, it's just not the one you deal with every day so it's confusing to you.

As a point of comparison, I defy a visitor, especially one who does not speak English, to figure out the train system in/around New York City. We have four different passenger train companies operating out of the city (Metro North, LIRR, New Jersey Transit, and Amtrak) each with its own ticketing system, rules and regs. Add to that the vast subway network and I'm sure visitors think that we're all nuts and that no one could possibly understand how it all works.

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, once you buy a train ticket, you still have to validate it before getting on the train?

 

I'll be doing quite a few train trips for my cruise and want to make sure I'm doing it right. First Rome to Florence, with a pit stop in Pisa. Then, Rome to Venice and then Venice to Milan. If someone can assist, I'd greatly appreciate it! This trip planning is daunting as this is my first European cruise, but it's exciting! :D

To piggyback on what Euro Cruiser has already written:

To do the Rome to Florence with the "pit stop" in Pisa, you'll need to use one of the regionale trains. These are the ones that do not have reserved seats. You will have to validate your paper ticket in one of the yellow boxes before hopping on the train. These tickets are for "any" regionale, so you have to validate to start your journey so that the clock starts on how long you have to use the ticket to complete your journey.

For your Rome-Venice, Venice-Milan trains, you'll want to reserve seats on a "Frecca" trains - the Frecciargento, Frecciarossa, or Frecciabianca. These tickets you do not need to validate. They are specific for only one specific train at a specific time. These tickets you want to purchase in advance - the closer to the date, the higher the price. If you buy on-line, you have the option to have an "e-ticket" - no paper needed. Just show the "e-ticket" on your smartphone/tablet!

To be fair, the Italian train system and regulations are no more confusing than most others, it's just not the one you deal with every day so it's confusing to you.

 

As a point of comparison, I defy a visitor, especially one who does not speak English, to figure out the train system in/around New York City. We have four different passenger train companies operating out of the city (Metro North, LIRR, New Jersey Transit, and Amtrak) each with its own ticketing system, rules and regs. Add to that the vast subway network and I'm sure visitors think that we're all nuts and that no one could possibly understand how it all works.

You are sooooo right!!! I'd much rather play around on the trains in Italy than the NorthEast Corridor!!!

I had problems just trying to figure out how to get back to the W Hoboken from Manhattan!!!!

To piggyback on what Euro Cruiser has already written:

 

 

 

To do the Rome to Florence with the "pit stop" in Pisa, you'll need to use one of the regionale trains. These are the ones that do not have reserved seats. You will have to validate your paper ticket in one of the yellow boxes before hopping on the train. These tickets are for "any" regionale, so you have to validate to start your journey so that the clock starts on how long you have to use the ticket to complete your journey.

 

 

 

For your Rome-Venice, Venice-Milan trains, you'll want to reserve seats on a "Frecca" trains - the Frecciargento, Frecciarossa, or Frecciabianca. These tickets you do not need to validate. They are specific for only one specific train at a specific time. These tickets you want to purchase in advance - the closer to the date, the higher the price. If you buy on-line, you have the option to have an "e-ticket" - no paper needed. Just show the "e-ticket" on your smartphone/tablet!

Thank you for this! I've decided just to do Florence that day to make things easier but am putting all of this information in my planning folder.

Is July a good time to buy train tickets for September?

Is July a good time to buy train tickets for September?

Start checking in May, four months prior to your planned travel dates.

What he says. On the Frecciarossa trains between Rome and Florence, you can find decent "Super Economy" pricing early. Now, those tickets are non-changeable, but you'll know when you want to leave to get the most of being in Florence. Sometimes, I can find a Business "Super Economy" fare for the price of a "Economy" Coach fare. Right now, I can book trains in March, so use that as a guide for how long out you can book. Hint:Be sure to click on the "choose the seat" box so you can pick the seat you want in the car (like a window!!).

Yes you can.

At least, sometimes you can.

For instance, you can break a Livorno / Florence journey at Pisa. On the way out or on the way back. You have to complete that journey within 6 hours - that's six hours for a one-way journey, you don't have to be back in Livorno within 6 hours of leaving Livorno.

After original validation, I didn't re-validate. But that's not to say I wasn't supposed to :rolleyes:

 

I did the same thing at Naples - bought a train ticket for Sorrento to Naples, stopped off at Ercolano to visit the Herculaneum site, then finished the journey to Naples on a later train - all on the one ticket.

But when I mentioned this on CC I was rebuked (in the nicest possible way ;)) by a knowledgeable regular - I think it was Eurocruiser - who said that the break-your-journey facility doesn't apply to that journey.

 

It's quite difficult to figure, because at no time have my tickets ever been checked at Italian stations or on Italian trains. They rely on honesty and random checks.

First time I took a Civitavecchia train to Rome I didn't validate my ticket at the station - I was rushing to get a train & reckoned to validate it on the train.

No validation on the trains for that journey, it has to be done at the station. :eek:

So for the whole journey I was pretty nervous about getting a big fat fine, but no-one checked.

 

Didn't have the same worry with Sorrento - Herculaneum - Naples, cos I didn't learn the error of my ways until weeks later :D

 

You need to quote the particular journey you have in mind - and get a definitive answer from someone who knows. Not someone who thinks they know :o

 

JB :)

We have been checked quite a few times on our train travels in Italy, especially between Livorno and Florence. We have been checked every time we have done that trip. We have seen people fined ON THE SPOT for forgetting to validate their tickets. We forgot to validate ours when we got on the Leonardo Express from the airport to Roma Termini. Luckily, the official who checked it just punched it for us, and didn't charge us. We felt very LUCKY. It is so easy to forget to validate your ticket, especially when you are rushing around after a long flight. We ran to get on a train in Taormina to go back to Messina and realized we hadn't validated the ticket. I saw a lady official and told her right away that we forgot to validate. She got another train official to talk to us, and he told us we were on the wrong train for our ticket. Luckily, he didn't charge us the fine, but just made us pay about 2 euros more each for the correct ticket. Riding the trains in Italy is quite an adventure! Once coming back from Sorrento to Naples, they made us go through some gates and checked our tickets. Luckily, we still had them.