Luggage on Trains - Termini to Civitavecchia

I am going to be travelling from Roma Termini to Civitaveccia with my parents in June. I have travelled the same route last year, however that was on a shore excursion (DIY) without any baggage.

I do not seem to recollect where the baggage is to be stored on the trains. My parents can lug their bags (just 1 each) to the train. However I was wondering if anyone knew how easy/ difficult it is to load the bags onto the trains. Are there many steps? Do we keep the bags with us?

The trains seem to be the best and most economical option. For the 4 of us, the cost would be less than Euros 50/- but a private car is looking upwards of Euros 150/-. If it is difficult travelling with bags, then we may just opt for the private transfer by cab.

Thanks in advance.

We travelled the reverse of this route last fall, so perhaps I can help. Bags are stored in a bin at the end of some cars or with you at your feet if they are small enough. some people actually stuck theirs in other seats. It was a saturday morning out of Civitavecchia so not crowded. There is a set of steps from the tracks up to the station in Civatevicchia, then about a ten to fifteen minute walk to the port entrance. In Termini the platforms are below ground, but there are elevators and ramps as I recall. The lighter and smaller your bags are the better.

Also a heads up, we took the train from Rome to Venice last year, and we had to stow the bags where we could not watch them. We were forewarned on CC to secure bags to the rack with a luggage cable lock which we did and we had no problem and peace of mind for the trip. For the small cost of the lock and small added weight I woulld do this again for sure.

Enjoy your trip.

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There are usually two or three steep steps up into the train.

Small to medium sized bags can stay with you and go on luggage racks over your head at your seat.

Large bags stay in racks at the end of the car. These racks fill up fast, so it's good to be one of the first onto the train. Many people worry about having their luggage stolen at stops, so they either go and stand by their bags each time the train stops, or they carry a small flexible lock (like you might use on a bicycle) and lock their bags to the rack.

It helps if one of you gets up into the train and the others hand the bags up to them, and the reverse when you get off.

We would add additional emphasis to Euro Cruiser's comment about security concerns regarding luggage left on (or next to) the racks at the end of train cars. Italy has more then its share of problems with Roma (gypsies) and other petty thieves. Unguarded (even for a few seconds) luggage is seen as an easy target. If we leave luggage at the end of the car we try to find a seat very close to the luggage or I will often stand near the luggage. In addition, we have a nifty cable lock device (ours is American tourister) which dispenses up to 3 feet of steel cable that is locked via a combination lock. On trains we will wire our luggage together and even attach it to the trains structure (if there is something we can use). While not 100% perfect, this device makes it more difficult for anyone to grab our luggage (they would need bolt cutters).

While we no longer see our luggage locking device for sale (one could also use a bike lock) there is another device for sale on Magellen's. Here is the link:

http://www.magellans.com/triple-security-luggage-lock

Hank

Other security options in addition to Hank's suggestion are two from PacSafe we have used while traveling in Europe. They can be purchased at pacsafe.com and amazon.com.

Lew

Guys, Thank you all for your inputs. Highly appreciated.

There are usually two or three steep steps up into the train.

 

Small to medium sized bags can stay with you and go on luggage racks over your head at your seat.

 

Large bags stay in racks at the end of the car. These racks fill up fast, so it's good to be one of the first onto the train. Many people worry about having their luggage stolen at stops, so they either go and stand by their bags each time the train stops, or they carry a small flexible lock (like you might use on a bicycle) and lock their bags to the rack.

 

It helps if one of you gets up into the train and the others hand the bags up to them, and the reverse when you get off.

We are planning to travel from Rome to Venice in July and wondering how big "large" and "Medium" bags are, would a 27 inch bag fit above over your head?

We are planning to travel from Rome to Venice in July and wondering how big "large" and "Medium" bags are, would a 27 inch bag fit above over your head?

Very unlikely. (Unless it is abnormally narrow and thin....) I can't even get my 24" to 25" bag above.

Very unlikely. (Unless it is abnormally narrow and thin....) I can't even get my 24" to 25" bag above.

So a standard carry on style bag would fit...the 9"x14"x22" style?

So a standard carry on style bag would fit...the 9"x14"x22" style?

Yes, a standard carry-on should fit fine -- as long as you can lift it up and stow it.

Yes, a standard carry-on should fit fine -- as long as you can lift it up and stow it.

Got it. Thanks. :D

Great, thanks for the insight, any recommendations and/or differences in the two train lines (Trenitalia or Italiarail)?

Great, thanks for the insight, any recommendations and/or differences in the two train lines (Trenitalia or Italiarail)?

I believe that Italiarail is simply a "booking engine" similar to RailEurope. You can use their site to book train tickets, but it is not a train line. Trenitalia is the passenger division of the National train company (government owned) called FS (Italian State Railways).

There are also quite a few private train companies in Italy, many of which own their own tracks. A good example is SFSM who owns/operates the popular Circumvesuviana Line which operates some trains in the Naples region.

Hank

I found this great website that explained everything to me, with great photos....http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm

,...just another reason why we travel light.

Be aware of those so called 'porters' who offer to lift, carry you bags onto the train, and store them for you. You may in fact discover they go in one door and out the other..with your luggage. Termini is known for this.

If you happen to be standing in front of the big arrivals/departures board in termini, make sure you luggage is in front of you, NOT beside you. Otherwise it could get lifted while you are diligently trying to locate the correct train, track, and departure info for you journey. Same applies when using any of the self service machines.

Be aware of those so called 'porters' who offer to lift, carry you bags onto the train, and store them for you. You may in fact discover they go in one door and out the other..with your luggage. Termini is known for this.

I think this is a bit of an overstatement.

Do watch out for anyone who offers to help you with your luggage, but not because they're looking to steal it. They will be looking for a tip and will loudly protest if they don't get what they want, or as much as they want.

I've seen no data or news stories that would indicate that actual theft of luggage is a problem.

Be aware our train from Rome to the port was on the last track ....we walked for forever ..if you are shlepping luggage ....be prepared ...we had just shopped and found the walk very long with just our few purchases.Im not kidding

I think we walked 10 blocks ...not worth the hastle with luggage plus no room to put it anywhere once on board ....i would not do it

Be aware our train from Rome to the port was on the last track ....we walked for forever ..if you are shlepping luggage ....be prepared ...we had just shopped and found the walk very long with just our few purchases.Im not kidding

I think we walked 10 blocks ...not worth the hastle with luggage plus no room to put it anywhere once on board ....i would not do it

A bit of an exaggeration, as you can see from the image here:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-la1JLXMGjN0/T9XNF5OhavI/AAAAAAAAAhU/x2cRQGuTtzM/s1600/track25-26.jpg

From the head of the tracks it is at most about 4-5 blocks. (Regionale trains to Civitavecchia depart from the area marked on the map as Tracks 25-26, although I think the track numbers go up to 29).

Also keep in mind that you do not necessarily have to board the train at Termini. There are a number of local stops along the way that may actually be much closer to your hotel or B&B-stops like Trestavere or S. Pietro.

The downsides to these stops are getting a seat and you may have to use a pedestrian subway to get cross a set of tracks. Our experience is travelling Italy by rail several times is that about half of the elevators are not working so expect to schlepp your bags down and back up.