Rail
The ITALIAN RAIL SYSTEM-
has four levels: Eurostar, Intercity, Interregionale and Regionale, Eurostar being the classiest. This high-speed train service covers many internal as well as intra-European routes with modern air-conditioned cars.Generally speaking, for a given distance each tier costs twice as much as the one below it. The train cars used by the Eurostar service are far newer than those used by the other three, but are not necessarily more comfortable. Some seats are provided with electrical supply (European type) and tables suitable for laptops. Reservations are necessary for these trains.The cars used by Intercity trains are split up into distinct, six-seater compartments, which is really nice when you're travelling in groups. A new level has been introduced recently. It is called Intercity-plus and it is just a way to have passengers pay more than the intercity fares. Recently, many of Interegionale trains have been classified as Intercity. Here, all cars are air conditioned and dining facilities provided as indicated onthe schedules. IC Intercity trains require payment of a supplementary fare, which is waived for holders of Eurail or BTLC passes. Seats may be reserved if desired. Interregionale and Regionale cover the local trains, not necessarily making all the stops on a route. First class is offered on the IR Interregionale only. Interregionale and Regionale are usually uncrowded during off-peak hours. Some of them offer air-conditioned cars, but no dining service is offered.
| |
The main practical difference between tiers is reliability. Intercity trains are generally very reliable, but if you need to catch a flight, for example, it might be better to pay extra for the Eurostar. Interregionale and Regionale are less reliable. The other big difference between Eurostar and the other two tiers is that Eurostar seating is all by reservation, while seating on the others is not. On the Eurostar and Intercity-plus, every passenger is assigned a seat. This means that the train will never be packed with an impossible number of people, but it also means you will need to purchase tickets in advance. During commuter hours, on major north-south routes during the holidays, or before and after large political demonstrations, trains on the two lower tiers can become very, very full, to the point where it gets very uncomfortable.
The pricier tier is usually faster, but there isn't a consistent speed difference between tiers. On some routes, the Eurostar will cut the travel time in half, but on others routes all three trains go the same speed, and taking the Eurostar is simply a waste of money. Just check the FS website or the printed schedule, usually located near the entrance to each platform, to see how long the trip will take.
On the train schedules, the
- Eurostar is listed in blue
- Intercity in red
- Interregionale and Regionale are green.
The arrival times are listed in parentheses next to the names of each destination. One thing to watch out for: certain trains only operate seasonally, or for certain time periods (for example, during holidays).
Train Tickets
First and second class rail tickets, which have different rates, can be purchased at station ticket windows, through automated machines located in the stations, online (www.trenitalia.com) or in authorized travel agencies. Generally with all trains requiring bookings, a supplement is charged along with the ticket price. Tourist groups, persons over 60 or under 26 years of age, and families are usually entitled to special reductions on rail fares, but the conditions are subject to change frequently.
www.trenitalia.com - Routes, timetables, information, ticket reservations and purchase
The lines to buy tickets can be very long, and slow, so it is advisable to get to the station early. There are touch-screen ticket machines which are very useful, efficient, and multilingual, but there are never that many, and the lines for those can be very long too.
To avoid queues at the station you can reserve tickets in advance via the internet at the Trenitalia website. You can then either print out your reservation details or have them sent by SMS to your mobile phone. Phones do not need to be Italian. The conductor will validate your reservation details when you are on the train and provide you with your ticket.
If you don't have time to buy a ticket, you can get on the train, but you will have to pay extra when the conductor (il controllore) comes around (a flat fee, somewhere around 5-10 euro) and they don't take credit cards. Technically, if you don't have a ticket you are supposed to find the conductor yourself and buy one (otherwise you have to pay another fee - approx. 20 euro), but for foreigners it's enough to just stammer something about being late and they will almost never hassle you about this.
Validating your Ticket
The way the system works is that unless you validate the ticket by inserting it into one of the yellow boxes on the platform (it says Convalida on the box), you could keep using it for months. The yellow box just stamps a date on the ticket, so the conductor knows you weren't planning on using that ticket again. Technically, a ticket that isn't validated is just like not having a ticket: you have to buy another. It is quite important not to forget to validate your ticket as the conductors are generally not tolerant in this particular matter.
The cheapest way to travel in a region is to buy a zone ticket card. A chart displayed near the validating machine tells you how many zones you must pay between stations. To buy a zone card for the next region you would have to get off the train at the last station and because the stops are so short you would have to board the next train (usually in about 1 hour). As this is so impractical, we suggest you buy the ticket for the complete journey at the ticket office and pay the slight amount extra!
As of January 10, 2005 a smoking ban in public places went into effect in Italy. You will be subject to fines for smoking on an Italian train.
Some special deals are offered. Some of them are reserved for foreign tourists, some of them are available also to locals. Some offers are passes that enable you to do any travel in the period chosen, other special deals are just normal tickets sold at special prices with some restrictions endorsed. Before you choose to by a pass, check first if it is cheaper to buying a normal ticket (or better a discounted normal ticket, if available).
