High-speed railways in Italy. Italian Railways. Regional and local trains

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Today we will learn how to use the official website of the Italian railways www.trenitalia.com, as well as buy high-speed tickets on our own without agencies and cunning intermediaries.

The Italian railways have only one official website - www.Trenitalia.com. It is ONLY available in Italian (default), English, French, German, Chinese and should look like this. Trenitalia does not have a website in Russian! If you find one, run - it's a trap.

It is quite difficult to understand the site the first time, but only purchasing a ticket from an official carrier directly gives you guarantees of a smooth trip. Also, on Trenitalia you can always check the current schedule of regional trains and buy them in the vending machine.

Important update: Due to frequent failures in the system of the Trenitalia website, we recommend buying tickets for all trains in Italy on the official partner website Omio.ru - the cost is the same, but everything is clear and in Russian. We recommend this method to all readers of ITALY FOR ME.

• – the best high-speed trains in Italy, convenient, well-functioning website.

Booking tickets in advance online makes sense for high-speed trains between big cities– Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples, Turin, Milan – since the cost 2-3 months before the travel date is several times lower. Please note that in high season from March to November there may be no suitable tickets left for the required dates at all in terms of price and time

Let's look at the nuances using the example of buying a high-speed ticket, for example, from Rome (Roma) to (Napoli). Enter the query into the search window.

• Da (from): Roma (Tutte Le Stazioni), from Rome all stations
• A (to): Napoli (Tutte Le Stazioni), to Naples all stations

You can immediately filter the results by train type:

• SOLO ANDATA- One way ticket
• ANDATA E RITORNO– round trip tickets

Number of passengers:

• Adulti– adult passengers over 14 years of age.
• Ragazzi– children up to 14 years old inclusive.

Train selection

I recommend traveling between major Italian cities only by high-speed trains - it’s comfortable and fast, especially if you buy tickets in advance you can save a lot. From Rome to Naples a ticket usually costs 44 euros, but for a month we can buy it for 19.90 euros. Travel time is only 1 hour 10 minutes, instead of the not always convenient train with a lot of stops for the same money. But it is worth noting that travelers on a limited budget can find options in the schedule for 9.90 euros.

Ticket types

Having chosen the departure option at 07:35, we proceed to choosing a ticket. It can be seen that the standard base price (Base) of a ticket is 44 euros - such a ticket can almost always be bought at the ticket office at the station, but in the high season from April to November it is still better to plan at least a week in advance. Day after day during the season, even the most expensive tickets are not always available.

The Economy option for 34.90 euros can be caught 2-4 days before departure, and the most profitable for us, SuperEconomy, I recommend booking about a month in advance.

A return ticket can also be selected; in our case, we were lucky and we could buy a Premium carriage for the same 19.90 euros or return from Naples in business class for only 29.90 euros. Great bonus!

By checking the Voglio scegliere il posto checkbox, you can choose a seat in the carriage. Without checking the box, by clicking Continua, seats in the carriage will be assigned to you automatically.

Choosing a seat in the carriage

Another advantage of purchasing tickets in advance on the official website is that we have a large selection of seats in the carriage. When traveling with a family or a group of 3-4 people, you will agree that it is more pleasant to sit next to each other. We always reserve seats at tables whenever possible. There are 2 seats next to each other.

For the train from Naples to Rome, select seats in the same way

All that remains is to click Conferma (Confirm)

Buyer details

If you are registered on Trenitalia.com, all you need to do is enter your username and password. Since registration on the Italian trains website is quite labor-intensive, we select the option Proseduo senza fare il login - continue without registration.

The following window will appear in which we enter the buyer’s information:

• Nome: your name in Latin, for example, Ivan
• Cognome: surname, for example, Urgant
• e-mail: your email – enter it super carefully without any typos!
• Conferma e-mail: Once again, carefully enter the same address - this is very important.
• Telefono: You can write your phone number at will.

Please note: the ticket purchaser is not necessarily the passenger. You can buy tickets for your family, friends, or clients. This is exactly what all the agency sites mentioned at the end of the article charge for. It is worth noting that there is a possibility that if you purchase something other than on the official website, you may get scammed.

If you are buying a ticket for yourself or traveling with a group, then choose the option Sono anche un passagero del viaggio - I travel too.

Passenger details

Passenger details will be filled in automatically. If you buy tickets for someone, then simply enter the passenger data.

Selecting a payment method

On the same page below in the Pagamento section, select a payment method convenient for you.

Click Acceto - I accept the terms and Continua - further.

Payment

The last step remains - entering your personal data for payment.

Click Continua and in a few minutes you will receive a ticket by email.

What does a ticket look like - do I need to compost it?

You will receive an electronic ticket confirming your reservation by email. If there is no email, check your SPAM folder. The ticket contains all the details of your journey: from where, where, train number, date, time, carriage number and seat. There is no need to validate your ticket; to travel, you just need to save the ticket in your phone, computer, or simply write down the 6-letter reservation code on a piece of paper. In the given ticket it is MMGBXN - this is the code that the conductor will check - everything is very simple and convenient, 21st century guys.

I am sure this article will help avoid possible surprises for all readers of ITALY FOR ME and will make your trip to Italy even more comfortable.

FAQ

Does Trenitalia have an official website in Russian?

No, be careful! There are several intermediary sites on the Internet that pretend to be the official Trenitalia website in Russian, the most famous is www.trenitalia .com.ru (note the address). It is quite difficult to understand immediately that these are intermediaries; I admit, at first even I was surprised. In fact, these are the agents who will charge you an additional fee. The Italians are still relaxing and have not gotten around to the official Russian version.

There should be no additional fees for purchasing tickets or servicing!

How to change a ticket?

The option to change the date or time of departure is provided only in the Base tariff; when purchasing tickets at a discount (Economy, SuperEconomy), you cannot change the ticket. Your ticket is only valid for a specific date, time and train.

To change your ticket, go to the special page, enter your email and reservation code in the box. You will have options to change your ticket, request a refund, request compensation for train delays, and add or change passengers on your trip.

How can I find out about promotions and discounts?

Trenitalia regularly holds promotions, for example, by buying a one-day round trip ticket you can save money. But the most the right way Save money by simply booking tickets a month in advance.

Share your reviews and experience of purchasing tickets on the official Trenitalia website (Trenitalia.com) in the comments. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Do I need to compost and print?

You just need to save the electronic ticket, or rather your booking code, on your phone or tablet and show it to the conductor. It is not necessary to print the ticket. Please note that tickets purchased online are valid only for a specific train - you have the carriage and seat number indicated. It is not necessary to buy tickets in advance for regional trains in Italy, as they can be purchased at the station. Here is the video instruction:

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  Guide, traveler, marathon runner, journalist. In love with Italy and his wife. I live in Rome and live Rome, I conduct individual author’s sessions for everyone who, like me, wants to fall in love with the Eternal City at first sight. I organize excursions with the best guides in Italy.

Despite the apparent obviousness of the question, people who do not know Italian language and Italian customs, many questions arise regarding Italian railways.

The first railway in Italy from Naples to Portici (Ferrovia Napoli-Portici) was opened on October 3, 1839 (when there was no Italy in the modern sense of the word, the railway was opened by Ferdinand II, King of the Two Sicilies).

Nowadays, despite dissatisfaction from residents and travelers (and accusations against FIAT of lobbying for the construction of motorways instead of railways), Italian railways are among the best in Europe.

However, due to the convenience of the schedule and the accuracy of the transport movement, Italian railways often leave a feeling of lost time.

In Italy, on a national railway network operated by joint stock company“Italian State Railways” (Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane SpA), there are several competing (or partner, in some cases, carrier companies).

Thus, on many regional routes there are local carriers (for example, Ferrovie Nord in Lombardy), which may make it somewhat difficult for you to return your ticket if you cancel the trip, but does not change the overall price or quality of the trip.

Moreover, in some cases, a trip with an “alternative” operator may turn out to be cheaper and not worse in terms of service. (For example, Italotreno high-speed trains successfully compete with high-speed Arrow trains from Trenitalia).

Let's take a closer look at your train journey in Italy.

Trains in Italy are mostly seated. Sleeper trains run at night and are quite rare. All trains are divided into several categories:

• high speed trains ( Freccia- arrows of the state company Trenitalia and Italo- high-speed trains of the competing private company Italotreno). By high speed train you can travel from Rome to Milan in 3 hours.
• Intercity (in the schedule they are designated by the letters IC) with stops only in major cities or at transfer stations.
• Local trains, usually serving relatively short distances (regional regionale or regionale veloce - its accelerated analogue with fewer stops).

Planning a train trip is quite convenient - you can order and pay for a ticket (also with transfers) via the Internet.

To plan your trip using trains from Trenitalia and partner companies, use the website www.trenitalia.com (Italian and English), where you can pay for your ticket and receive it in in electronic format. You don’t have to print out the ticket, but present the SMS message to the controller or show the received one pdf file on the screen of your phone or tablet.

Tickets for high-speed trains are purchased up to 1 month, tickets for the regional train - no earlier than a week before the trip.

Italo high-speed trains operate in two directions - from Salerno to Turin via Naples, Rome, Florence, Bologna and Milan and from Rome to Venice via Florence, Bologna and Padua. Order tickets and schedule on the website italotreno.it (languages ​​Italian, English, German, French).

And remember, the sooner you buy a ticket for a high-speed train, the cheaper it will be and you will be able to choose the best seat.

Tickets purchased via the Internet are personalized and for a specific train, even if they do not have a seat.

They do not need to be printed or composted at the station. If you bought tickets at a ticket office or at a self-service machine, you must validate them at the station, otherwise you may be fined for traveling without a ticket. even if your ticket indicates the flight and seat.

www.viaggiatreno.it - ​​online train status (including in Russian). Knowing the number of the train your friend is traveling on, you can track its movement in real time and, if you are late, do not rush to the station.

Timetables and booking tickets for trains of the Trenitalia network and its partners in the regions.

www.italotreno.it - ​​Italo high-speed trains.

For owners of mobile devices on operating systems Android and iOS have the Prontotreno application, which allows you to view the timetable, pay for tickets and track the movement of Trenitalia trains.

Category Red Arrow (Frecciarossa)

This type of train on certain sections of the route reaches cruising speed at 360 km/h. Trains use new high-speed lines and connect the cities of Turin - Milan - Bologna, Florence - Rome - Naples - Salerno. Exceptional comfort and Wi-Fi connection. Directions:

Milan - Rome - Milan: 24 direct and 30 with stops in Bologna and Florence. Travel time: 3 hours and, accordingly, 3 hours 30 minutes. for the second group.

Milan - Naples - Milan: 4 trains with stops in Rome and Milan and 7 trains with stops at Roma Termini. Travel time: 4 hours 10 minutes. and, accordingly, 4 hours 25 minutes. for the second group.

Turin - Rome - Turin: 8 trains with stops in Milan, Bologna and Florence cover the distance in 4 hours 13 minutes. 4 trains with a single stop in Milan cover the journey in 4 hours 20 minutes.

Bologna - Florence - Bologna: 44 trains, travel time - 37 minutes.

N.B. Italy -

Krasnaya Strela - interior and services

Category Silver Arrow (Frecciargento)

These trains can use both high-speed and regular lines and reach speeds of 250 km/h. The Silver Arrows connect the cities of Rome, Venice, Verona, Bari, Lecce and Reggio Calabria. Directions:

Rome - Venice - Rome: 28 trains with a minimum time of 3 hours 30 minutes. and maximum - 3 hours 43 minutes.

Rome - Verona - Rome: 6 trains, of which 2 - through Bolzano and 4 - through the city of Brescia. Travel time - 3 hours.

Rome - Bari - Rome: One train with stops in Benevento, Caserta and Foggia. Travel time is 4 hours.

Rome - Reggio Calabria: 2 trains with stops in Naples, Salerno, Paola and Villa San Giovanni. Travel time is 4 hours.

Silver Arrow - carriage interior

Category White Arrow (Frecciabianca)

Trains of this category reach a speed of 200 km/h and serve the lines Milan - Venice, Udine, Trieste, as well as local lines along the Adriatic coast, Bari and Lecce. They are distinguished by high comfort and cleanliness, spacious interiors and favorable ticket prices.

The White Arrow includes several first class carriages, as well as a specially adapted carriage for passengers who cannot move independently for health reasons.

Interior of White Arrow carriages

Intercity Trains (IC)

This category of trains appeared in Italy in the 80s. Intercity trains were considered luxury and were intended to transport passengers between major Italian cities. In fact, they have become an expensive option for interregional trains. Before the introduction of high-speed Eurostar trains, IS trains served long-distance routes with few stops along the way.

As a rule, the train layout includes 2 first-class carriages and up to 7 second-class carriages, including compartment and general passenger layout options. Trains are developing maximum speed 200 km/h. Intercity trains connecting cities neighboring countries, are called Eurocity.

Since December 14, 2008, almost all trains in this category have been replaced by Eurostar Arrows. As a result, the price of tickets for Intercity is much lower and more profitable. Until recently, purchasing a ticket did not involve reserving a seat on the carriage. Due to the accelerated modernization of these trains, this option will most likely also appear in the online booking mode.

Intercity carriage interior

Regional and local trains

As the name suggests, we're talking about about the category of local trains without the possibility of reserving a seat in the carriage. Regional and local trains, with rare exceptions, stop at every town or station.

Regional and local trains can be double-decker, have old and new cars, different types of locomotives, and the varied assortment of cars is difficult to describe in a nutshell. The distinctive symbol of the carriages is R or REG(regional).

The maximum speed of trains is up to 150 km/h, but only in certain sections.

Investments

Over the past few years, Italian railways have invested more than 5 billion euros in projects for new high-speed lines and train safety systems. Trains are the main competitor to airlines in the domestic market, and in some cases the time savings are obvious. Train control systems implemented on the basis of GSM operators allow you to control the speed of trains from a distance, stop the train or bring it to its destination automatically under any atmospheric conditions.

Official website of Italian Railways

Roma Termini. Address: P.zza dei Cinquecento, 00185 Roma, Italy

It will be useful for readers to know that the second unifier of Italy after Garibaldi was the railways. Their birthday was officially recorded as April 21, 1905, although the first trains appeared more than 170 years ago. A short video report about the history of Italian railways will take you back in time for a moment:

Train stations in Italy

In the past, Italy was jokingly called the land of a hundred cities. Now it is called the country of 2000 stations. There are exactly 2260 of them. They are divided into categories and are subject to different administrative levels. There are four categories of stations, each of which includes classification attributes based on the volume of passenger traffic, service infrastructure, tourist load, architectural complexity, originality and level of development of business services.

Platinum category includes stations with a daily number of passengers from 6,000 people per day, with a dense network of destinations and a frequency interval of departure and arrival of trains. The cities are important tourist and cultural centers, the station infrastructure includes supermarkets, bookstores, travel agency offices, etc. The platinum category includes 11 Italian cities: Milan, Venice (Mestre, Santa Lucia stations), Verona, Bologna, Torino, Genoa (Principe, Brignole stations), Florence, Rome , Naples, Bari and Palermo.

Golden stations Medium to large size differ from platinum in volume of passenger traffic and fewer business services.

Bronze stations serve exclusively local trains with small regional passenger traffic.

If you plan to travel around Italy by train, then your favorite site should be http://www.trenitalia.com/, if you need the English version - http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html
On it you can see schedules, look at the price of tickets and buy them online.
As an option, we can also recommend the website of the European Railways, http://www.bahn.de, it works better (in general, of course, this is the website of the German railways, but it shows the whole of Europe very well). True, this site does not list small foreign stations.

Trains

The most expensive trains– Eurostar, they are the fastest. A little cheaper - Intercity, even cheaper - Regionale, Regionale, Espresso, Diretto - they are the slowest. But check which trains and how long are on the route you need, often the time difference is not very significant, for example, on the Pisa-Milan stretch the difference between ES and Reg is 18 minutes, and in terms of money - 21 euros per 1 adult one way, Reg it takes 33 minutes to Ferrara, 28 minutes to Eurostar, and one-way tickets per person cost 2.95 and 9.86 euros respectively.

As practice shows, even Eurostars are late from 20 minutes to 2 hours.

Types of seats on trains

Compartimento 2 letti = Double coupe (also the most expensive)
Posto doppio = space for one person the size of two
Posto speciale = Special (for disabled people)
Posto singolo = Single
Excelsior singolo (solo in 1ª) = Single-luxury
Excelsior doppio = Double luxury
Excelsior singolo con lettino = Single with extra. crib
Excelsior doppio con lettino
Excelsior Matrimoniale = Single room for newlyweds (with double bed)
Excelsior - the name of the upgraded class
Con lettino - with a cot for a child

Schedule

2. Paper version – at the station on glass stands, and on the platform

(departure time, stops along the way and the time of arrival at them, from which route it departs - the latter changes, and this is easy to clarify by looking at the monitor on the platform or above the ticket office).

3. Ticket machines: select the language you speak, and then enter the departure station, destination and time interval - the machine displays possible options.

It’s logical to first fiddle with the machine or study the schedule, and then go buy tickets at the box office, especially if you don’t speak Italian, because... It may take a long time for the cashier to advise you.

Italian cities (those that are called/spelled in Italian a little unusually)

Roma - Roma - Rome
Milano - Milano - Milan
Firenze - Firenze - Florence
Napoli - Napoli - Naples
Torino - Torino - Turin
Bologna - Bologna - Bologna
Genova - Genova - Genoa

the rest are mostly written and read clearly :)

Buying tickets

1. at the cash register. The cashier does not necessarily speak English. A request for a ticket is pronounced, for example, as follows: “Bon giorno, signore/signora, uno/duo/tre (1,2,3) ticket (if several – ticketI) Ravenna/Ferrara/Firenze e ritorno per favore.” That is, good afternoon (after lunch they say bona sera), sir, so many tickets to such and such a city and back, please. At the end you can say “Mille grazie” (“thank you very much”). You will see the amount due from you on the cash register display facing you.

The ticket can be paid either in cash or by card. They may ask for a document confirming your identity. For example, we always leave our passports in the hotel safe, but we carried a scan of the first pages of our passports with us on a palmtop; all the cashiers we met were happy with this, although some were surprised that they were being shown this

There are some subtleties, for example, as our travel experience shows, the cashier will automatically issue you a ticket for the cheapest nearest train, Reg, and if you need a Eurostar class train, then add to your request that you need a Eurostar. And the cashier does not tell you when the train you need departs, he sells a ticket for the nearest passing one, and the information you need can be clarified both from the cashier and in the machines and at the timetable stands.

If you purchased a ticket for a cheaper train, but intend to take a more expensive one (you were late for your “own” train, or time is running out - you never know), then the ticket can be “upgraded” - that’s what my husband called it Namely, to your ticket you They will give you a receipt indicating that you paid extra for travel on Eurostar or Intercity; it is only valid with the ticket you have already purchased.

Attention! If you intend to walk around the city until dark, you should take care of purchasing a return ticket immediately upon arrival in the city - ticket offices are usually open until 20-00, and machines at small stations tend to be idle.

2. in a yellow machine. Choose the language that is more convenient for you to read, and go ahead - buy tickets, to which station (you are offered several nearby cities, and if the one you need is not there, you can type it in the alphabet displayed on the screen), today (you can select any date), and As a result, you have a list of trains for today to the desired station, indicating the departure time from the station where you are, the class of the train and other necessary information. Immediately raise your head and look at the board to see which track the train will depart from at that time. You can pay in cash or by card.

You can, of course, not contact the box office at all and buy tickets only from the machines, but on some of the machines we saw there were announcements stating that there may be interruptions in the operation of the units and please contact the box office if problems arise. That is why my husband mainly bought tickets at the box office, and at that time I found out the departure time and route at the stand or in the machine. We bought tickets from the machine only a few times, and then in Rome - nothing bad happened. Be careful, there are suspicious characters hanging around the machines at Termini asking people who buy tickets for money!

Screenshots of buying tickets from the machine

here you need to insert your card

and these couple of windows will appear without your participation

3. in gray machines, where at least minimal knowledge of the Italian language is required. I’ll admit right away - all three times that we bought tickets from such machines, in 2 cases helpful local residents helped us.

4. if you have to cover a distance of up to 200 km, you can purchase a ticket at a tobacconist or newsstand. Sometimes, if the ticket office at a small station is closed, tickets are sold at the bar at or near the station.

The ticket price is the same for all methods of purchasing tickets. We didn’t notice the difference between the cost of tickets when buying them one-way or two-way.

5. on the Internet, on the training website(registration required). It makes sense to do this if you are traveling on weekends or holidays - there may not be any seats available on the day of departure. You can choose two ways to receive your ticket
- Ticketless means that you will be sent an SMS (only to Italian numbers) or an e-mail with the order number, carriage and seat. You can choose the option to confirm payment to the same email or have it printed for you directly on the train. When the controller arrives, he only needs to give the order number (PNR)
- Self Service means that you must print out the ticket yourself in one of the machines at the station, that is, arrive in advance and then take a long time to enter your data.

Tickets are checked quite often, but cheating locals manage to argue with the inspector and even prove that they are right. In some guidebooks I came across advice to pretend to be a “stupid tourist,” but I wouldn’t risk it.

On non-high-speed trains, when purchasing a 2nd class ticket, you can be fined for traveling in 1st class, but this is strict (well, in Eurostar your seat is clearly indicated). Smoking in non-smoking carriages is not accepted; there are special smoking carriages for this purpose. With the introduction of a smoking ban and heavy fines, the number of smokers has not decreased and they can still be seen in special compartments fenced with a transparent wall. You can board any carriage of “your” class; you can also occupy any seats in the carriage.

In some regions there are also local trains, for example, in the province of Trento the rules and tickets are the same as for the whole of Italy, but the insides are nicer

bike compartment

Travel cards

The Afisha guidebook recommends paying attention to the following travel cards: “If you plan to travel a lot around the country, you should buy an Amicotreno card (€50) at the railway ticket office, which gives a 50% discount on regular trains and 10-20% on express trains Intercity class (and at the same time - a 10% discount in Feltrinelli bookstores). If you are under 26 years old, Verde Railplus (€40) will come in handy, which gives a discount of 10-25%, but only on the basic ticket price (the discount does not apply to train speed surcharges and therefore does not apply to Eurostars). Finally, if you are traveling with a group (2 to 5 people), it is beneficial to purchase a Point to Point Train Ticket or TrenitaliaPass.”

From the experience of my own travels, Interrail type passes (let me remind you that Eurodomino has been canceled since April 1 of this year) are not very profitable (unlike travel passes, for example, in Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark). If you don’t rush back and forth on the train, it’s impossible to “recapture” such a pass.

Features of the Umbrian Lines (Ferrovia Centrale Umbria)

On the last trip we were able to test the Umbrian Railways - Ferrovia Centrale Umbria. Company website http://www.fcu.it/

It turned out that these railways are a state within a state. They have their own schedule, the machines at the stations and the training department do not provide information on them. The train consists of 2 (less often 3) diesel engines, decorated with graffiti, with their own composters at each site. If the composter does not work, the boarding time is written with a pen, or not written at all - each train has its own controller, traveling with the driver from terminal to terminal, who usually knows that the machine is faulty. Sometimes the machine works, but the date is punched to the left - the conductor is also aware of this

These lines also have their own tickets (they are valid, however, like Trenithal tickets - 6 hours). Unlike tickets for the trainitalia, on the Umbrian railways you cannot get off in the middle of the track and see the town you like - you need to buy tickets separately for each section of the route (although some tickets were written differently). In principle, if you have violated this rule, then it is quite possible to talk to the conductor-controller and explain the situation to him. We succeeded, although he only spoke Italian and we spoke English. It all ended with cries of “Viva, Italia!” and “Welcome and have a nice journey,” and then the conductor galloped around us for a long time, wanting to get some Russian coin as a souvenir, with the words “Brezhnev, perestroika, Gorbachev”. We immediately changed the return ticket, purchased for the entire section of the route, at the station (in the station bar) to 2 for each section, and went back as expected.

The trains of the Umbrian Railways are moving, as it seemed to us, like minibuses: stops on demand. The train should theoretically stop at all the stops indicated in the schedule, but in reality it happened like this: if there is no one on the platform and no one gets off (and the controller asks which station someone is going to and informs the driver about this), then the train will pass without stopping . Moreover, even if a stop at some stop is not indicated, but the train passes by and a passenger is waiting there, then there will be a stop . A big plus of these lines is the presence of their own Santa Anna station in the center of Perugia, close to all attractions.

Umbrian Railways trains have been seen traveling on traditional Trenitalia lines. In this case, regular tickets apply.

Travel tickets for Lazio

For example, Biglietto Integrato Regionale Giornaliero

The first railway appeared in Italy in 1839, even before the unification of the fragmented regions of Italy into single state. Length of the first line from Naples the tiny town of Portici was 7.5 km away.

Currently, the total length of Italian railways is almost 17 thousand km. The main carrier, carrying out 79% of traffic, is the state-owned company Trenitalia; in addition to it, there are 40 more small railway companies.

Railways of Italy considered one of the best in Europe, they have one problem - regular train delays of 15-20 minutes.

How to buy tickets online

Online purchases can be made at www.trenitalia.com – official website of Italian railways. How it's done:

• You need to go to the site and select the English version by clicking the British flag icon at the top right. Next, click the Register button. A form will appear.
• In the form you need to fill out the fields Name and Surname (first and last name) in Latin, exactly as written on the credit card (because you will have to pay with it).
• In the column Your Home (your address) you need to write down the Italian address - the location of the hotel where you plan to spend your vacation will do. Then fill in the E-mail (mail) and Telephone Mobile (cellular).

  2 checkboxes are placed opposite the words I agree and a checkbox confirming that “Regolamento” has been read. The Confirm button is pressed.

• The next day (not earlier) an email arrives with a link that you need to click to activate your account. The password needs to be changed to a new one.
• After this, you need to re-login with a new password and you can select tickets by first filling out the Ticket column. Select Single (one way ticket) or Return (back and forth).

  Fill in the columns From and To (from where and where), Depart (time of departure), Return (time of return), Adults (number of adults), Children (children). Click Search and you can select a route and tickets.

• Important! City names (From… To) will have to be entered in Italian, for example, Firenze, but not Florence, Roma, and not Rome.
• There are always tickets, but you should choose them at least 2 months before the start of the trip, otherwise all tickets in the cheap Economy and SuperEconomy classes will be sold out, and you will have to be content with the more expensive Base fare.

  For comparison: a trip from Rome to Florence according to the Base tariff, 2nd class will cost 43 euros, Economy – 29, SuperEconomy – 19.

• Count Cartafreccia with discounts and other things, alas, only for Italian citizens.
• The Prices column indicates the minimum price - usually this is either SuperEconomy or Base 2 class. By clicking Select, you can purchase more expensive tickets, for example, travel in 1st class, business class or in a luxurious Executive carriage.
• Payment is made by Visa or Mastercard.
• Tickets will arrive by email in PDF form and need to be printed. It is highly advisable to write down the PNR (Booking Code) separately and save it carefully.

  Actually, the ticket inspector on the train will only need this code, to run through its database and issue a check certifying payment and the well-deserved right to travel.

Trains marked Regionale are local trains, slow and cheap. A trip from Rome to Florence on such a regionale will cost 21 euros in 2nd class, 32 euros in 1st class.

The price of train tickets is the same – online, at ticket offices and at ticket machines. You can buy them online 1 week before the trip, but not earlier, and you won’t be able to save on them.

Classification of Italian trains and seat types

Trains in Italy are divided into the following types:

• Express. These are the luxury Eurostar Italia and Frecci (arrow) series trains operating between the main cities of Italy. Tickets are not cheap, seats are reserved after purchase.
• Intercity. These are Intercity and Eurocity trains - the former run throughout the country, the latter - throughout the EU. Purchasing a ticket does not automatically mean a reservation.. A seat can be reserved for an additional 3 euros, or you can sit in any free seat in your carriage (although reservation is preferable).
• Regionale - the notorious electric trains, quite slow and inexpensive. When purchasing a ticket, a seat is not reserved; you can sit anywhere. Overcome distances within 200 km.

Trains are strictly divided into day and night trains. In the daytime there are only seats. The night ones start running at about 19.00, there are both sitting places and “lying down” places (Cuccette).

Coupes in the usual sense are available only on night trains - double (the most expensive), four-seater and six-seater. There are both single and triple compartments.

Coupes are divided into mixed (promiscuo), purely female (donna) and purely male (uomo). This important to consider when ordering or buying tickets.

Night trains run, for example, from Rome to Palermo and back, the journey time is approximately 11-12 hours, you can sleep at night (and save on a hotel). But there are no night regionales.

The carriages are class 1-2, if you board a 1st class carriage with a 2nd class ticket, you will have to pay the difference. However, it doesn’t make much sense to strive for 1st grade – the classes differ only slightly.

Are the places more comfortable? On the road, they can treat you to coffee and offer to read the latest Italian press. It's hardly worth paying extra for this.

Train schedule in Italy

Italian train schedule you can find out in 4 ways:

On our website you can also find. You will definitely need it when traveling around the city!

Benefits of traveling by train, discounts, benefits and passes

Travel traveling by train in Italy is much easier and faster than by plane (taking into account check-in, baggage check, etc.) and very often (though not one hundred percent) cheaper.

The train is clearly preferable to the car - just mention that parking in Venice for 1 day will cost 50 euros, to this you need to add the cost of gasoline and tolls on the autobahn.

Traveling by bus is not very convenient, since most routes are local.

How to save additional money by choosing the train over other modes of transport:

• Children under 4 years old can travel for free, provided they do not occupy separate seats. Children from 4 to 12 receive a 30% discount.
• You can read more about discounts in the OFFERS section of www.trenitalia.com or find out at the ticket offices of Italian train stations.
• The InterRail Italy Pass can be purchased in Italy itself or order online (delivery 7-10 days). Gives the right to unlimited use of trains 3,4,6 or 8 days a month. Price for 8 days – 216 euros, discounts for children and students.

Tickets: where to buy and how to validate them

Where and how to buy tickets, excluding online purchases:

• At the ticket office at the station, which is not very convenient, since the cashiers do not always understand English, there may be queues. This method will work if not bank card or only very large bills are available.

  Please note that the ticket office is open until 20.00 (and sometimes until 18.00).

• Can buy at newsstands or tobacco kiosks, sometimes in the bar at the station (if the ticket office is already closed).
• The most convenient way is a machine, payment is made in cash or by card, there is an English interface.
• The purchased ticket must be put through a composter (new models are turquoise, old models are yellow). There are composters at train stations everywhere..

  You need to place the ticket in the slot and wait until the machine “purrs” and enters the date and time. A validated ticket is valid for 6 hours, an unvalidated ticket is valid for 2 months, it can be returned (though with a 20% discount).

There is no need to validate tickets that specify the carriage and seats, such as Eurostar tickets. Any tickets purchased online, including tickets for regional trains, are also no need to compost.

Some simple tips will make life much easier for those who travel in Italy by train:

• Italians, including railway employees, love and know how to go on strike, because the word “strike” itself is of Italian origin.

  Typically strikes do not affect tourists, but it is worth checking the website scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi where the location is current schedule of all strikes.

• With a little luck, you can ride on regional trains, but you shouldn’t rely too much on luck; tickets are checked often. If caught, you will have to pay 100 euros and buy a ticket.
• If for some reason you were unable to validate your ticket at the train station, you need to get on the train and look for the ticket inspector (capotreno). He validates the ticket himself. Otherwise you will have to pay a fine, as for travel by “hare”.
• Food on even high-class trains leaves much to be desired, so it is better to stock up on food at the stations. Toilets at stations and train stations are paid (0.5-1 euro).