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Changing Trains at Roma Termini

My husband and I will be arriving in Rome September 3 and taking the train to Florence. We will take the train from FCO to Roma Termini and then change the fast train to Florence. Does anyone know if 25 minutes is sufficient to make the train change? We will have only one suitcase each. Thanks in advance for your help.

Posted by
11247 posts

Yes, it is plenty of time. Don’t dawdle and be ready to get off the airport train when it stops as the track for it is at one far side of Termini (at least it was last I knew) and you could have a bit of a walk to the departure track. Have your luggage and other stuff in hand and stand near the door as the train gets into the station so you are not queued behind less organized travelers. Walk to the main terminal and check the board for your departure track. Knowing your train number is helpful.

Posted by
19 posts

I just did this a couple days ago and have to say what a pleasure that train ride is to Florence - you’re in for a treat. Beautiful scenery and a smooth fast train, before I knew it we were there.

And my transfer time was 25 minutes and had plenty of time.

Posted by
7453 posts

I think the bigger concern is which train time you will make at FCO. If you need to go through immigration, especially now with covid documentation, how long will that take? Do you need to get the suitcase from baggage claim? Even the walk from the terminal to the train station, then waiting for the next train takes time. If you have planned all that in, then yes 25 minutes is sufficient.

Posted by
23178 posts

Paul is really asking, "Do you have a specific reservation for the Florence train?" That is the difficult variable. If not it probably would be best to wait till you purchase your ticket for the L Express.

Posted by
15043 posts

If the Leonardo Express still arrives at track no 23 or 24 (or higher, there are 27 tracks in total), as it used to prior to Covid, it’s a long walk to the high speed tracks (up to 600m or 2,000ft) but still doable in less than 10 min even with a rolling suitcase.

Posted by
224 posts

I have allotted 3 hours at FCO to retrieve luggage and catch the 10:38 train to Termini. Does that seem sufficient?

Posted by
23178 posts

Aaaaa !! It should be. But what is normal these days??? We normally sail through immigration and customs in about an hour or so. But three years ago on a Sat am flight from NY it was over three hours getting through immigration. Just two officers on duty. And then to slow it down even more, a couple of people circulated through the lines looking at connecting ticket and moving people up who had short connections and, of course, pushing those with no connections further back. Not a good morning.

Posted by
3812 posts

Write here the code of the train to Florence, so we can check the intended departure track from Termini.

Do you know the departure time of the direct FCO-Florence train? It leaves around noon if I'm not wrong.

Regarding getting tickets in advance:

  • If you have allotted too much time, you'll have to waste one hour (or more) at Termini looking at Trenitalia's and Italotreno's high speed trains departing to Florence before the one you have booked in advance.
  • if you arrive at the track one minute late you'll have to wait in line at the counter to buy new tickets.

There is free WiFi at FCO that you can use to connect to trenitalia.com and get your tickets in a single transaction. Or You can make two separate purchases, to have more than 25 minutes to transfer. If you prefer to speak with an employee, you can get a through FCO-Florence ticket at the airport station.

Posted by
224 posts

Thank you Dario. The intended train is FA35518. Our other alternative is to take the train from Tirburtina to Chiusi then change trains to Siena (our intended final destination). Rather than go to Rome on the fast train and take a bus to Siiena. In your opinion, would that be better? (We know there is a direct bus from Rome to Siena but we prefer the train.)

An earlier post on this site indicated that the Chiusi to Siena train was not running. Does anyone no if it is operational?

Posted by
3812 posts

If your final destination is Siena, I see no reason to travel up to Florence and then backtrack to Siena. That's one of the few journeys where I'd just rent a car at FCO and drop it in Siena. Both Faster and nicer: you would have the opportunity to drive through rural Tuscany while saving vacation time.

The FA35518 train comes from far away, from Calabria. It's scheduled to depart from track 12 at Roma Termini station, but you must always check on the "Partenze/Departures". For instance today it departed from Track 7.

Does anyone no if it is operational?

I'd rather check by myself on the official site than trusting any forum on the web.

  1. www.trenitalia.com/en.htm
  2. From: Fiumicino Aeroporto
  3. To: Siena (or Chiusi-Chianciano Terme or wherever you are going to).
  4. Day: 03/09/2021
  5. Time of departure: 11
  6. Search.