Florence SMN Train station/ Montecatini transfer

Twenty minutes should be plenty of time. The Firenze Santa Maria Novella station is a terminus, so you get off one train snd just walk across to the connecting train, No stairs to climb. The electronic boards will show the track number you need, this info isn't always listed too far in advance.

Gary,

There's no accurate way of telling which Binario (Track) No. your trains will arrive on, especially as these are sometimes changed at the last minute. Your arrival platform doesn't really matter. In order to find the correct departure platform, I'd suggest checking the electronic board as soon as you arrive, looking for the number R-3056.

I assume you're planning to buy tickets for both trains in Napoli? As your second train is a Regionale, DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel (tickets for the Freccia train don't have to be validated, since they're specific to one train, date and departure time). DO NOT validate the Regionale tickets in Napoli, as their validity may have expired before you get to Florence.

Twenty minutes is MORE than enough time for a easy change like that. You may find it helpful to have a look at THIS short video which shows the layout of Firenze SMN.

Regarding your second question, you could consider using a departure from Montecatini Centro at 05:33, arriving Firenze SMN at 06:37 (cost €5.20 PP). From the station, use a Taxi to the airport as it's a relatively short trip and the Taxi bills at a flat rate (about €28 as I recall, although there may be a surcharge at that time of the morning). If you don't want to get up that early, your next best bet would be to stay in Florence the night prior to your flight. Ask your hotel to pre-arrange a Taxi to the airport.

Happy travels!

There are 16 tracks at the Florence SMN station. The first is freight. Track 2, 3,4,5 are regionali going to Empoli direction (Pisa, Siena). 5, 6,7 go to Castello direction. 8 thru 12 Freccia. 13,14,15,16 regionali Campo Marte direction (Pontassieve, Arezzo, Roma). Your train to Montecatini goes the Castello direction. These are general rules, but for sure you will never see a train departing to Pisa from track 16 or a train going to Arezzo departing from 3. As you arrive and alight the train you will head toward the end of the track (I.e. Toward the direction the train was heading when it arrived. You will almost certainly turn right at the end (your arrival track coming from Rome is likely 10 to 12. Your departure is probably 5 to 7. If you are far from the end of the track, there are also stairs to the underpass to cut across without having to go all the way to the end of the track. I think there are displays at the underpass.
If you see no displays and you speak good Italian, take any service phone and dial extension 2183 or 2186 (don't remember which). It connects you with the SMN control tower. Ask them where your train number is arriving to. Just pretend to be a station worker.
How do I know all these things? I worked at SMN station in youth.

Thank you all for the help. This will put my mind at ease.

Gary

The Florence SMN train station is really easy to navigate and the signage board is large and easy to read. Note however, that the signage will show the train number and the train's final destination. You won't see Montecatini on the sign board. Look for the departure time, train number and track number. I'm betting that the final destination for train 3056 is Viareggio.

Next time I get 2 tickets for a connecting train, i will validate the second ticket at the first station. My train to Ancona was 50 minutes late leaving Roma Termini. Trains at Ancona were waiting for us and people flew to catch their second train. Except me. Even though a trainman on the lower level pointed me to the elevator going up, I instead had to run down a tunnel to validate my second ticket. I was painfully aware that there was No time to validate the ticket. The trainman had given me the track number for the upper level, which I found. I was the only person still not boarded. Oddly a passenger was standing on the steps of the train and hauled my luggage and then me up in the nick of time. Never again. You have to have a plan for when trains are late.

@Sandra,

One important point to keep in mind is that tickets for Regionale trains have a "shelf life" once validated. If you validate both tickets at the first station and the train is late, the ticket for the second train may have expired by the time you use it. Therefore the second ticket will be invalid, and you could be fined on the spot.

The shelf life on my tickets anyway was 6 hours. When i traveled from Vairano-Caianello (Campania) to Roma Termini, I was faced with the same situation. The connecting train was at Cassino. I went ahead and validated Both tickets at the same time at the first station near departure time. The first train left on time. The Cassino train, however, was very late. Both stations were difficult with the deepest and highest stairs I have ever seen. No elevators, No ramps. Cassino had No seats, and we all had to wait outside trackside in the cold December late evening. I don't even remember seeing a Validator at Cassino. On the train to Roma, more standing. Best thing I did was validate both tickets at the first station. That was the most exhausting train ride I ever had.
There are so many things to deal with when traveling, the more I can take on in the beginning, the better for me later when i start to tire or run out of time.
Then I figure, hey Im in Italy, this is their business, this is what they do, they got me covered. I will be OK.
I even survived an unvalidated train ticket from Napoli to Riardo-Pietramelara. I don't recommend that though.