The Eurostar trains in Italy

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Eurostar, Italy’s fastest train

The Eurostar, which travels only by day and only stops in the most important Italian cities, is the fastest and most comfortable train in Italy. Reservations on the Eurostar are obligatory, but free.

There is a restaurant between the first and second class carriages. Eurostar trains have special compartments for your luggage – these compartments are not guarded, though.

Delays on the Eurostar

If a Eurostar train in Italy is delayed by more than one hour, you have a right to be reimbursed. This involves finding the special, hidden, office dealing with reimbursements, lining up there, filling out a form and then hoping that you erally get your money back. By this time you will at least two hours late in stead of at least one.

Outside Italy

The Eurocity and Eurocity Night trains travel on international routes and as soon as you leave Italy, the train tariffs of the countries you are traveling through will apply. You need to find out beforehand whether or not reservations are required for these trains.

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Espresso Trains: Italy’s slowest long distance trains

Espresso trains

Of all the long distance ones, the Espresso trains are the slowest and therefore also the cheapest. Espresso trains travel both inside and outside Italy. The Espresso trains stop far more often than the Eurostar and Intercity trains, though not at the very small stations, unless these are stations where several railway lines meet.

The Night Espresso trains have sleepers you can reserve (though not for free).

No food is sold on the espresso trains, so if you travel a longer distance, make sure to bring enough food and drink with you.

The luggage racks are also above you on the Espresso trains.

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The slowest trains of the Italian railway system

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Interregionale, Regionale and Diretto Trains

The Interregionale, Regionale and Diretto trains travel shorter distances and are slower and, especially during the peak hours, not very comfortable. On these trains it is sometimes even difficult to find space to stand in the gang-paths, since tickets are sold whether there are seats left or not.

The reason for this is that the tickets for these trains can be bought up to 2 months before your actual travel date. You will have to validate them by stamping them in one of the small yellow machines you can find attached to the pillars at the beginning of each track.

Slow Travel Movement

These kind of trains are the favorites of the so-called Slow Travel movement, since traveling on them gives the tourist, or traveler, a chance to meet with the locals. Italy is a beautiful country and there are many railway stretches where it can definitely be enjoyable to travel as slowly as possible (the cliffs near Cinqueterre, or the Tuscany part of the trip between Florence and Rome), but if you choose the wrong moment to travel you might well end up finding out that local armpits have a lot more in common with your own than you might expect.

Where to buy railway tickets in Italy

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Ticket windows

First of all there are of course the ticket offices. The most important railway stations, like Rome Termini, have two offices, the first one of which is for those who wish to travel the same day. The second office is for people who wish to make a reservation for a later date.

Vending machines

There are also ticket machines, blue ones that only give out tickets for local trains in smaller railway stations and yellow ones to cover all Italian trains. Most of these ticket machines only accept credit card payment. Most of the machines that only take cash will be found to be out of order. Most of the machines that do take cash will not have enough change and give you a voucher that you will be able to use at a later date. In order to do that you will have to go to a ticket office, though.

Tobacconists and newspaper kiosks

Tickets for distance of up to 200 kilometers can also be bought at the tobacconists and newspaper stands of most railway stations. These biglietti chilometrici will not show a destination, but the number of kilometers you will travel. Do not forget to validate them before boarding the train by sticking them into the little yellow machines at the beginning of each track.

Online railway tickets in Italy

It is also possible to book tickets online throught the Trenitalia website. You will get an e-ticket with the following information: Your departure and arrival stations, your time of departure, and the number of the train, the compartment and the seat, with a reservation number. The conductor will give you the actual ticket on the train itself. (Note that it is impossible to book online on the travel date itself and more than one month beforehand.)

Italian railway tickets: when to buy

Railway reservations in Italy

The Eurostar trains require reservations, for the Intercity trains it is optional to book a seat.

Tickets for trains that do not require reservations can be bought until up to 2 months before the actual departure date. They do not become valid until you have stamped them in the yellow machines you find at the beginning of the tracks. The biglietto chilometrico can be bought even earlier.

Seats on trains that do not specifically require reservations but allow them had best be booked in advance though, especially on Friday- and Saturday nights.

Buying the ticket is not enough

If the conductor checks your ticket and you have not validated it you can get a huge fine.

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Italy railway discounts and special train tickets

Railway passes

Some regions have special passes with which one can travel all through that region for an entire day.

Special offers

Trenitalia sometimes has special offers, especially on Saturdays and during the quieter hours. It is recommended to visit the website of the Ferrovie Statali to see whether one of those offers applies on the date you travel.

Railway discounts for children in Italy

Children below 4 years of age travel for free. Children between 5 and 12 years old have a 50% discount. If the child younger than 12 is part of a group of 3 persons, he/she will also travel for free. Groups of a minimum of 6 people get a reduction, but have to apply for this at least 15 days before the actual travel date.

Leonardo Express

The Leonardo Express, the train between Fiumicino, Rome’s international airport, and Termini, the city’s central railway station, costs 11 Euros.

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Schedules for Italian Trains

Arrivals and departures

In every italian railway station the yellow schedules indicate the departure times and the white schedules the arrivals.

The yellow schedules indicate the final destination of the trains in big, bold black letters. The smaller major stops are indicated in smaller bold letters, whereas the minor stops (if there are any) are indicated in normal lettering.

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The Italian word for “railway track” is binario and is indicated as “bin” on the schedules. Note that in bigger stations like Rome Termini or Firenze S.M.N. one train’s delay can cause a chain reaction and because of this a change of platform as well. Therefore it is always necessary to make sure that your train will actually be leaving on the track indicated on the yellow schedules by comparing it to the monitors in front of the tracks and, in the big stations, to the big black boards put up high in the railway station’s main hallways.

When studying the schedules you need to keep an eye out for the words festivi (only on Sundays and public holidays) and feriali (only on weekdays, including Saturdays).

It is possible to look up the schedules on the Trenitalia website.

Some useful tips for train travelers in Italy

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Validate your ticket

1. Don’t ever forget to validate your ticket before boarding the train. You do this by sticking it into the yellow machines at the beginning of the tracks. If there are no machines or they refuse to function (a regular occurrence) or you simply forget, you need to write the date you are traveling and your departure station on the ticket before the conductor comes by.

Food and drinks

2. Take food and drinks with you on the longer stretches of the Espresso trains, since there are no food trolleys or restaurants on the trains.

Pay attention to your luggage

3. Although the Eurostar trains have special compartments for your luggage, it is advisable to keep as many of your belongings as possible with you.