Cinque Terre

If you are in Tuscany already, why would you go back all the way to Rome to reach the Cinque Terre? If you need to go from Ft. Myers to Sarasota do you go to Miami first? The first rule of travel planning is looking at a map. Google Maps will do. That will give you an idea of where you will be and where you need to go. Once you see that, looking for a train isn't difficult. Just go to Trenitalia.com, enter your departure city, your arrival city, date and approximate time. Both Montecatini and any of the five (Cinque=5) Cinque Terre towns have a station (with Monterosso being the most important where the faster trains also stop). It's approx. 2 hours from Montecatini to the Cinque Terre. Two Train changes in Viareggio and La Spezia, in most cases. The most important train stations of Tuscany are Florence and Pisa respectively, with Pisa being closer to the Cinque Terre. If you happen to be in Pisa during your Tuscany travel, that would be a faster way to get to the Cinque Terre. Only slow regional trains pass through Montecatini.

Susan, To begin with, YES, both the Vernazza and Monterosso stations are fully operational, and have been for some time. Only the Vernazza station was affected by the floods of October 2011. As Roberto mentioned, there's no need to return to Rome. I'm not overly familiar with the rail stations at Montecatini, but there are trains listed from Montecatini Centro to La Spezia Centrale, with travel times as short as 1H:33M. Exact travel time will depend on which train departure you choose. When you arrive at La Spezia, transfer to the local train to reach whichever town you're staying in. Those will likely be Regionale trains so DON'T forget to validate or you'll get a nasty surprise!!! Do you need to return to Rome after your visit to the Cinque Terre? That's a very easy trip. Happy travels!