Italian railway map in Russian. Trains in Italy - unraveling the railway intricacies. Krasnaya Strela - interior and services

The first railway appeared in Italy in 1839, even before the unification of the fragmented regions of Italy into a 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 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 in 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 (departure time), Return (return time), 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 – 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. During the day - only seat place. 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 travel 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 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’s better to stock up on food at the stations. Toilets at stations and train stations are paid (0.5-1 euro).

Category Red Arrow (Frecciarossa)

This type of train on certain sections of the route reaches a cruising speed of 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

You can buy tickets for the Red Arrow online at www.lefrecce.it or from the new Self-service machines "Biglietto veloce". The seat on the ticket is reserved.

The Milan - Florence - Rome - Naples trains include a dining car. A couple of years ago, only first class passengers and top managers could use this service.

In first class carriages, all passenger seats are equipped with contacts for laptop computers and mobile devices. Passengers can order coffee, juices and champagne. Passenger layout 2+1.

Second class carriages are not inferior in comfort and equipment. The layout of the passenger space is 2+2.

Category Silver Arrow (Frecciargento)

These trains can use both high-speed and regular lines and reach speeds of 250 km/h. 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 prices for tickets.

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

2+1 seating layout, wide aisle and more sophisticated system for personal luggage. All first and second class tickets include a seat reservation.

The layout of passengers is 2+2, the design of the seats is less free, more economical materials were used for the interior and toilets. All passenger seats are equipped with contacts for laptop computers and mobile devices.

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 introduction high speed trains Eurostar IS trains served long-distance destinations 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. The trains reach a maximum speed of 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 locality or train station.

Regional and local trains may be double-decker, include old and new cars, different types locomotives, and the motley 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.

Search for train tickets in Italy -

In Italy they serve the most delicious spaghetti and pizza, talk quickly and drop everything they’re doing every day for a languid siesta. Any schoolchild will instantly find this country on the map, because... its outline is very reminiscent of a boot. What else can you tell us about Italy?

Most of us have limited knowledge about it to this set. Want to know more? Get to know the locals better and explore more than just the center? Do you prefer routes where there will still be more Italians than tourists constantly photographing something?

Then forget about sightseeing buses and rental cars. Buy a train ticket and go! And how to choose trains in Italy, buy tickets and save on them, look for the schedule and the desired platform at the railway station... We will now help you figure out all these subtleties. Go!

Italian trains... What are they?

Rail transport in Italy is carried out by the company and ItaloTreno.

TrenItalia

Trenitalia has the following classes of trains at its disposal:

Frecci (designated ES and AV)

The Frecci group (meaning "arrow") includes three types of trains: Frecciabianca, Frecciargento and Frecciarossa.

FrecciarGento(“silver arrow”) picks up speed up to 250 km/h. The main routes of these trains pass through Venice, Rome, Reggio Calabria and Verona.

Trains FrecciaRossa("red arrow") there are 2 and 4 class. In the latter, carriages are allocated Premium And Standard(1st and 2nd grade, respectively), Executive And Business(elite carriages, a ride in such is an expensive pleasure). These are the fastest trains (up to 360 km/h), which pass through all cities except Milan, Bologna, Rome, Turin, Florence and Naples without stopping.

FrecciaRossa provides communication via high-speed railway lines between major cities: Milan - Bologna (1 hour 02 minutes), Rome - Naples (1 hour 10 minutes). There is a line Milan - Reggio Emilia-Bologna, from where the train goes to Rimini, Pesaro, Ancona.
FrecciaBianca(“white arrow”) are the oldest and slowest (up to 200 km/h) trains of the entire category.

Intercity (IC)

Intercity trains make many stops and travel slower than express trains. But they connect about 200 cities in Italy.

If you are not in a hurry, like to travel in style, and don’t mind enjoying the gorgeous picturesque landscape outside your window, then Intercity trains are what you need! Intercity differs from other carriers in its budget prices. For example, if you need or can get there quite inexpensively. With the money you save you can treat yourself to a delicious Italian cuisine, buy aromatic cheese, a bottle of wine, or treat yourself to new clothes at Italian outlets.

Olesya (24 years old, Nizhny Novgorod):

“We took the Intercity train from Turin to Milan in 2 hours. We chose the Trenitalia train because Italo does not yet inspire confidence: there are few reviews and the prices are high. But now I’m thinking, maybe on my next vacation I should take a chance and go to ItaloTreno? Intercity has comfortable chairs, but the tables are tiny! And only for those who sit by the window. It’s very inconvenient: no coffee, no laptop.”

InterCityNotte (ICN)

These are night trains. They are for those who don’t want to sit on a train all day, but don’t mind saving on a hotel. In the evening, get on the train, fall asleep, and wake up in the desired city. These trains have both seats and compartments (mixed - Promiscue, only for women - Donna).

Eurocity (EC)

Regionale (R) and Regionale Veloce (Rv)

Regional trains are more comfortable one- and two-story versions of our electric trains. On the Regionale Veloce you will get to your destination faster, because... he doesn't make many stops.

ItaloTreno

Italo trains are easily recognizable by corporate logo: running hare. These are high-speed electric trains of a new generation, designed by experts from a large French company ALSTOM. Their path passes through 14 stations in 10 major cities Italy: Turin (Porta Susa), 3 stations of Milan, 2 stations of Venice, Padua, Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Florence, 3 stations of Rome, Naples and Salerno.

Vadim (46 years old, Chelyabinsk):

“I traveled from Milan (Milano Rogoredo) to Rome (Roma Tiburtina) on the ItaloTreno train. The entire journey took 2 hours 40 minutes, I timed it on purpose. The ticket cost 86 EUR, Trenitalia offers almost the same prices, so there is no difference. I just chose the train that left earlier.”

How to get a train ticket in Italy?

There are more than a dozen types of train tickets in this country. Their prices range from 9 to 200 EUR. Here are the most popular options:

Base

He's the same Base ticket.

Pros: Holders of such a ticket can change the ticket (its date and time) for free as much as they like before the train departs and for another hour after that. You can also travel on another train with a basic ticket. If necessary, a ticket costing more than 10 EUR can be returned (only before the train departs), losing 20%.

Minuses: The ticket does not include any discounts. To travel on a different route, you need to take a different train and pay the staff an additional 8 EUR and the ticket difference (if any).
Such a replacement is possible if another train departs with a difference of ±1 hour from the time marked on the ticket.

Economical

This ticket is called Economy ticket.

Pros: You can only change the date or time once.

Minuses: You cannot return your ticket or use it to travel on another route.

Super economical

Pros: Ticket prices for this class are very low: from 9 EUR.

Minuses: You cannot change the date, time or train, or return the ticket.

Tickets purchased on the website will also have to be changed online.

There are three ways to buy train tickets in Italy:

Buy a ticket at the box office.
Purchase a ticket through a special machine.

You can easily recognize these machines by the inscription: "Biglietto Veloce/Fast Ticket", which translates to “Fast Ticket.” To use the device, you need to understand at least a modest level of English, Italian or German.

First, on the touchscreen you select the desired language, then the date and place of arrival. The machine will show a list of trains that suit you. By clicking the “i” button next to any of them, you will receive all the information about the route: departure and arrival times, stops, ticket prices.

From time to time, the machines do not work, do not accept cards or bills, do not issue a ticket, but a receipt to present at the box office, etc.

Book your ticket online. This can be done through the Russian-language booking service.

Let's travel profitably! How to save on tickets?

If we want to save money on moving, then:

We know who is cheaper.

If you are traveling with children under 4 years old, they do not need tickets. But they are not entitled to a separate seat when traveling without a ticket. And children 4–12 years old receive a 30% discount. Companies of 6 or more people can apply for a 20% discount.

We follow the promotions.

Sometimes on the Italian website railway transport The training event is taking place with the “2*1” promotion. Then two people can ride with one ticket. Naturally, it is not possible to change the date, train or return the ticket.

We buy tickets in advance.

Those who purchase tickets in advance can take advantage of Amica tariff and save up to 60%. Do you want a good percentage of benefits? Worry about tickets 1-3 months before your trip, because the number discount tickets This tariff is limited. And remember: there are no exchanges or returns here either.

We issue travel cards.

For young people (up to 26 years old) and people over 60 years old - « Green map"("Carta Verde"). It will cost 26 EUR and provide a 15% discount on all tickets throughout the year.

For hyperactive travelers - "Amicotreno" card. It costs 50 EUR, but it also gives good discounts: 10-20% on Intercity train tickets and 50% on regional trips.

Let's travel right! What does every railway tourist need to know?

To make your train journey to Milan or Rome go smoothly, you need to:

Validate the ticket.

For this action, special yellow machines are installed on the platforms.

But ONLY tickets for REGIONAL trains need to be validated.

A validated ticket is valid for 6 hours, i.e. During this period, you must have time to settle in any regional train. A ticket that has not been validated can be used within two months from the date of purchase.

If a conductor on a regional train notices that you have an unvalidated ticket, a fine is inevitable. The fine amount can be from 8 to 100 EUR, depending on the train.

And take care of it.

Because train staff can check your ticket at any time. And at this moment it is advisable to show them the ticket. A sweet smile and a fable about “blown away by the wind/chewed by the dog” are unlikely to have any effect.

Take lateness into account.

Trains may be delayed, so do not experiment by giving yourself 10 minutes for a transfer. It’s better to play it safe and organize everything so that there is at least half an hour between the arrival of one train and the departure of another.

Explore the Italian Railways website.

And add it to your bookmarks, you never know: www. fsitaliane.it

Use the schedule.

Fortunately, it is available at any train station. The entire schedule is divided into time intervals (they are highlighted in blue): 00:00 - 1:00, 1:00 - 4:00, 6:00 - 7:00, etc. Inside the interval, all trains that depart or arrive during this period are indicated. Remember: "Arrivi" means "arrival" and "Parenze" means "departure".

Grigory (33 years old, Moscow):

“I’ve been traveling around Italy for several years now. Always with Trenitalia. I order tickets online, no problems have arisen so far, but I registered on the website just in case. If suddenly the Internet fails and the payment does not go through, then without registration there is no point in thinking about getting the money back. Advice for novice tourists: print out your train route. Otherwise, you will have to annoy conductors and fellow travelers, because stations are not announced on Italian trains.”

Don't want to rent a car? Travel around Italy by train! Affordable ticket prices, comfortable carriages, easy ticket booking - everything for tourists. Even at some station, getting lost is not possible. The main inscriptions there are duplicated in English. And the train stations are almost museums. So the train will take you straight to the main attractions.

And if you buy tickets for InterCityNote, don’t forget to tell your friends the legend about the Italian ghost train. May the journey be fulfilling for everyone.

Tina Krainichenko

From the article you will learn about all the intricacies of traveling around Italy by train: how to buy tickets, what types of trains and carriages there are, where to look at the train schedule, what travel discounts are available for tourists, as well as several useful tips, which will be useful to every traveler.

You can travel around Italy in different ways: if you’ve only arrived for a couple of days and don’t plan long trips, then public transport will help you see the main attractions. The roads here are good, so you won’t feel any discomfort. In addition, tickets are not that expensive. But if you are planning a trip around the country and want to visit several cities, then the best option there will be a railway. True, you need to know several nuances and features when buying tickets and about the trains themselves. After all, in Italy everything is a little different, but we’ll tell you how now.

The main rail carrier is the state-owned Trenitalia (it owns 79 percent of the market). Besides it, there are also smaller companies, about forty of them. But I recommend that tourists turn to the services of Trenitalia, as I think this is a more reliable option. By the way, Italian railways are considered the best in Europe. True, they also have one sin - constant delays of 15-20 minutes. Please keep this in mind before heading out.

Buy tickets

There are several ways to purchase: from ordering online to purchasing at the checkout. Today we will look at all the options for those who are planning a trip and for those who have decided to change their travel course suddenly.

First, I’ll reveal the secrets of online shopping. So, to order travel tickets in the desired direction, you need to go to the official website of the railway company www.trenitalia.com. Select the English version of the site if necessary and register. After clicking the Register button, a form will appear on the screen to fill out, in which you need to enter your first and last name, but only so that it matches the data on your credit card. Because you will have to pay it off. You will also need to enter:

country of birth;
where you live (here you need to indicate an Italian address, the hotel where you are staying is quite suitable);
full date of birth;
your gender;
login and password;
Email;
mobile number.

After this, you need to put two checkboxes next to I agree, as well as next to “Regolamento” (I have read the information). Click Confirm. That's it, we created an account. A day after registration, you will receive an email with a confirmation link (not earlier). Click on the link and change the password (just in case). Now log in using your login and order tickets. Don't forget to select the quantity, as well as one Single or two ways Return. By the way, you can do all this before your trip or during it, if you have a good one, for example, Vodafone or Orange. But more on that later, now let’s return to the topic of buying tickets online. So, after choosing the quantity, we indicate where we are going from and where, as well as the period of departure Depart and arrival at the place Return. Next we indicate how many adults are Adults and children are Children. After filling out these fields, do not forget to save the data.

Note! The names of the cities (from where you are departing and where you are arriving) must be indicated in Italian.

Please note that passes should be booked in advance (2 months in advance) if you want to travel inexpensively in economy class. Since these tickets sell out the fastest, you will have to be content with the more expensive option - the basic one. For comparison: a basic fare second class trip from Rome to Florence will cost no less than 43 euros. While economy class can be taken for 29, and super economy class for 19 euros.

Discounts and other conditions in the Cartafreccia column are relevant only for Italians, they are not provided for tourists. In the cost column the minimum price or 2nd class is set. But if you want to buy more expensive tickets, you can select by pressing the Select button. You can pay for tickets with a Mastercard or Visa card. After payment, travel documents They will be sent by email in PDF format, it is advisable to print them. But most importantly, rewrite and save the Booking Code. Since it is precisely according to this that the controller will issue you a payment receipt on the train.

In Italy there are also trains called Regionale - these are electric trains, they are not high-speed, they will take longer to travel, but they are cheaper. In addition, there is no point in ordering them in advance, since there are no discounts. The price is the same both when purchasing online and at the box office.

Now let's talk about how to buy a travel pass without Internet access, so to speak, in the usual, classic way. There are several options:

At the station ticket office. True, it is not as convenient as we would like. Firstly, not all cashiers speak English. Secondly, the ticket office is open until 8 and sometimes until 6 pm. Purchasing this way is justified if you don’t have a credit card or your bills are too large.
In newsstands and even in some bars. This option is ideal if the cash registers are no longer working.
Using a machine gun. This is perhaps the most profitable method of all: you can pay in cash or by credit card, the interface is in English.

We talked about ways to buy travel passes, now let's look at the issue of composting, because not all tourists are aware of this. So, composters are everywhere, they are not difficult to find. New devices are painted turquoise, old ones – yellow.

I advise you not to ignore composting, as there may be troubles and a rather large fine. The process is simple: lower the ticket and wait for it to make a characteristic sound and indicate the time and day of travel. After composting, the travel card is valid for 6 hours; if not punched, it is valid for 2 months.

Please note: passes purchased online do not need to be validated, just like those that indicate the seat and carriage. There is also no point in punching a ticket for the regional lineup.

Types and schedules of trains in Italy

There are several types of trains that have their own differences:

Moreover, as in other European countries, there are day and night trains. The daytime ones are equipped with only seating, and the nighttime ones depart from 7 pm; they have both seating and rest areas. Coupes are available exclusively on night trains; they can be designed for two or one (the most expensive) or for three, four or six passengers. It is also worth considering that there is a gender division: only women's compartments, only men's or mixed. Night trains travel all night, you cannot enter or exit the train, this is not provided for. Therefore, passengers can have a good night's sleep, which, by the way, is an excellent option for saving on a hotel room. The carriages can be first or second class. If you want to travel first class, but bought a ticket for second, no problem, just pay the difference. Although, I want to note that the classes do not differ much from each other, perhaps a little: more comfortable places, the opportunity to drink a cup of coffee or read the latest newspaper.

As for the schedule, there are four options for how to find out:

Go to the official website www.trenitalia.com and see the information.
Look at the board at the station (ARRIVO – arrived, PARTENZA – departing). I note that the platform number where your train arrives appears 15 minutes before arrival.
Find out information using glass stands and printed schedules.
Using automatic ticket offices to order tickets. Select Buy your ticket and view the information. There is no need to buy a ticket.
You can buy a booklet with the schedule for 2.50. But I don’t see the point in spending money on something that you can get for free.

Benefits of traveling by train

Exploring Italy by train is not only cheaper, but also easier than by plane or car. Besides, you can't see beauty on a plane local nature, but the train allows you to enjoy the picturesque surroundings. I like the option of renting a car, but it is quite expensive. Parking alone, for example, in romantic Venice will cost 50 euros per day, and to this you also need to add the cost of gasoline. It is possible, but this is only relevant in the city; for long distances it is not an option. Therefore, I recommend the train option, especially since for knowledgeable people the trip can be really inexpensive. So, what discounts can you get:

Children under four years of age travel free of charge unless the child occupies a separate seat.
Children from 4 to 12 can travel with a 30 percent discount.
They also offer the same discount to young people under 26 and pensioners over 60. Detailed information can be found at the box office or on the official website.

In addition, for those who plan to travel a lot around Italy by train, there is great option– purchase of an InterRail Italy Pass. It can be purchased locally or ordered online (waiting time 7 to 10 days). This pass allows you to travel unlimitedly for 3, 4, 6, 8 days. Thus, unlimited trips for the longest period will cost 216 euros. When registering, discounts are possible for children and students.

I hope my advice and information will be useful to you. As promised, I’ll tell you a little about mobile communications abroad, because this is an equally important issue. As an experienced traveler, I will say that it is better to take universal SIM cards that can be used not in one country, but in several. For example, operator Orange offers a special SIM card for tourists, By purchasing this you will be able to communicate freely in 36 countries and use high-quality Internet. For just 1 euro you will get 100 MB of traffic and many other benefits that you can find out about . I also advise you to pay attention to the tariffs offered mobile operator Vodafone (Italy):

Local Italian call rates.

Simple automatic activation during use.
500 MB of high-quality high-speed traffic.
45 countries, as well as Türkiye, America, Canada.

Travel the world interestingly, economically and do not forget to always be in touch with your family, because this is the most important thing!

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 grace” (“ Thanks a lot"). 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 more than cheap train, but you intend to go on a more expensive one (you were late for your “home” trip, or time is running out - you never know), then the ticket can be “upgraded” - that’s what my husband called it Namely, you will be given a receipt with your ticket, which will indicate 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 is needed Italian language. 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 “own” 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 Intercity class express trains (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