Where do you put your luggage on the train from Rome to Civitavecchia?

We plan to take a train on a Sunday morning around 10am from Rome termini station (where our hotel is within walking distance) to Civitavecchia. Just wonder if it will be crowed on a Sunday morning. We will have 2 big luggage (not giant size though) and 2 small knapsacks with us. Where do you put these luggage? Can you put them next to you without blocking the aisle? Or do we find a seat close to the end of that particular train compartment so we can put the luggage against the doorway and keep an eye on it? Is it safe? Given the fact that there are a lot of pick pockets/thieves in the area? Will there be a lot of stairs? We have taken the train from Termini station to the port before, but usually during a port day with no luggage. We plan to either walk or take the bus to the port once we get out of the Civitavecchia train station. Can we purchase the train ticket in Rome on the day we leave or should we buy it on the night before? Thanks in advance.

There are various options for luggage on the train:

-There are racks above the seating where small bags can be placed;

-Occasionally you will have seats that are back-to-back - this creates a nook into which a medium-sized suitcase can be slipped;

-A Sunday shouldn't be too crowded, so spread yourself across a couple of empty rows; as is the case for most commuter trains, the middle cars are usually fuller, so try to sit in one of the end cars.

I was going to answer your other post re: airport train, but I will put the info here: you can use the journey from the airport as a test of sorts. Forget about the Leonardo Express, and take a regular Regionale train to Termini. You can then see what type of train you will be taking to Civi, and figure out the best option for your luggage.

I put mine in the overhead rack. The largest one I've put up there measures 25"x14"x13" (my Osprey Sojourn convertible wheelie). I also pack light enough that I can lift that bag onto and down from the overhead.

If the train is crowded (not too likely on a Sunday mid-morning), you may not be able to keep your luggage at your seat unless it goes on the rack above. I have found the racks above are not friendly to anything more than a carry-on size that is not too thick, as the rack is narrow.

There are places to put luggage near the doors. If you leave your luggage there, try to get a seat nearby to keep an eye on them. If you can't do that, an alternative is to have one of you stand up and near the bags whenever you approach a station.

The regionale trains run frequently and there's no benefit to buying a ticket in advance as they do not "sell out" and there is not an assigned seat.

You don't give the dates of your travel, but looking at the current Trenitalia schedule, it appears that there is an IC train (Inter-city) that departs Termini at 9:57 am on a Sunday. This may be worth considering as with the IC train you DO get assigned seats and there are fewer stops to worry about your luggage "walking" off. If you opt for this train, it could be worth buying your tickets in advance.

Edited to add: There will be no stairs at Termini in Rome, but it's likely that at Civitavecchia you will have to go down and then up a flight of stairs to exit the station.

FWIW, when we took the train the cars had compartments that each sat six - three facing three. There was a rack at the end of our car where one could leave larger luggage but there were overhead racks in the compartment that held our medium sized bags and our rollaboards. When we took the fast train from Venice the only place to fit our larger bags was on the racks at each end but we had brought a plastic coated wire with loops at either end so we could lock them together and to the rack. This seemed to be pretty standard - most everyone who left their bags, had them secured in some fashion. Our rollaboards fit between the seat backs as the PP noted. Do be careful with pickpockets at Termini - we had an issue with some young men (14 year olds?) who created a commotion and tried to block our way onto the subway during which time, they wrenched DH's phone from his hand in his front pocket...luckily it fell to the platform and he was able to retrieve it as the kids ran away after a nice Italian man got up from his seat and started hollering at them...apparently my "Basta - Basta" wasn't doing the trick.:eek:

Our train to Civitavecchia was very full and we were glad we had bought tickets ahead of time and had seat reservations. I believe we were traveling on a Saturday so maybe it won't be as crowded on Sunday. :confused: We purchased our tickets and reserved our seats online on the Italian train website and just had to show the conductor our phone with the confirming email which included a bar code he scanned. This was on the train that was pretty much an express. (Edit: thanks to Cruisemom for reminding me...we were on the inter-city...and fyi, you can trust EVERYTHING CruiseMom says...she is a great resource for all things Italian!) As I recall we stopped at one station after leaving Termini and then once more just before we arrived at Civitavecchia.

Do be prepared to hike at Termini...we waited under the big board for our binaro to appear and when it did, we had about five minutes to get from there to one of the outlying platforms:mad:

But it was worth it for a great cruise! Have fun!

3 weeks ago, we took one of the regional trains- not many people on it. So we had all of our luggage in the seats across the isle from us.

All of 5 Euros, each.

And the train was on time to the minute. Did the same thing on the way back to Rome.

When you arrive in Civitavecchia- use the bus. We thought we could walk, but didn't know where the port buses shuttle you to the ship. Thankfully, a kind bus driver took us to the right spot. Worth the 2 Euro.

I was going to answer your other post re: airport train, but I will put the info here: you can use the journey from the airport as a test of sorts. Forget about the Leonardo Express, and take a regular Regionale train to Termini. You can then see what type of train you will be taking to Civi, and figure out the best option for your luggage.

There are NO regional trains from the airport to Termini.

Looks like the choices now are the Leonardo (which trenitalia.it lists as "regional" if you click the regional box) or a couple of Frecca trains.

Looks like the choices now are the Leonardo (which trenitalia.it lists as "regional" if you click the regional box) or a couple of Frecca trains.

If traveling between FCO and Civitavecchia, we would not use the Leonardo Express or even go to Termini. We would simply use the lower cost regular regional train between FCO and the Trastevere Station where you can then change to the train to Civitaveccia.

Hank

If traveling between FCO and Civitavecchia, we would not use the Leonardo Express or even go to Termini. We would simply use the lower cost regular regional train between FCO and the Trastevere Station where you can then change to the train to Civitaveccia.

 

Hank

Honestly, 6 of one, half dozen of the other.

The trains go from FCO to Termini, and from Termini to Civitavecchia- so they will be the same trains you get off and get on at Trastevere. Just a longer wait in a smaller terminal at Trastevere.

Thanks for all the replies! We have taken a train from Termini to Civitavecchia before, in fact it was a round trip from the port to Rome and back during a port day. It was for about 10 Euros for the return trip. Except this time we are starting from Termini since we are going to be staying in a hotel near it the night before. So I presume we should still be able to take a train for about 5 Euros from the Termini to the port? Regional or Express? How do we know what it is, would we just find out when we go to the train station the night before and maybe just buy the ticket ahead of time? Is one better for luggage storage than another other than the speed?

Thanks for all the replies! We have taken a train from Termini to Civitavecchia before, in fact it was a round trip from the port to Rome and back during a port day. It was for about 10 Euros for the return trip. Except this time we are starting from Termini since we are going to be staying in a hotel near it the night before. So I presume we should still be able to take a train for about 5 Euros from the Termini to the port? Regional or Express? How do we know what it is, would we just find out when we go to the train station the night before and maybe just buy the ticket ahead of time? Is one better for luggage storage than another other than the speed?

When you actually buy the ticket, you will see if it's a 5 Euro regional train, or the express train that has assigned seats (and does cost a little more).

IIRC, the speed difference it about 20 min, if it matters.

Our decision was what time we wanted to arrive plus the time we wanted to wake up. Based on that, we went to the station the night before to see our choices. Then, the next morning, we went, bought the tickets- and got on.

The regional trains don't have assigned seats- so you just choose a car that you want to sit in.

Can't answer the luggage thing, as both trips were on the regional train that stopped at every station. And luggage was in the seats across the isle from us.

Don't forget to have your ticket stamped at the machine before you board.

We took a Sunday train and bought our tickets the day before. However you can get them at a machine the day of the trip or from an agent upstairs (street level) same day.

You have to walk a bit in Terminale but there are no stairs.

Ours was a regional train which left Terminale around noon. Four of us had an entire car to ourselves so luggage was no problem. We put it across the aisle.

You will likely have to go down and then up stairs at Civatavecchia.

It is a technicality of the system, because the Leonardo Express's entire run is within one region (Lazio) it's classified as a regional but that's not the previous poster meant. Between the airport and Termini there are only express trains.

I understand. I was just pointing out that it is a little oddity that, in this case, the "regional" isn't the cheap one as some have mentioned.