High Speed Train vs Regional Train

Sure 'cause you are not going that fast. You are not in an airplane. But often there is nothing to see anyway. Answer your own questions by going to trenitilia.com and plugging your various sites. Three levels of fares - super economy, economy, and base. The first two are limited and come with restrictions but the saving is significant.

1. You can see fine from a high speed train, it just goes by quicker and there may be a few more tunnels.
2. A high speed train does Florence to Naples in 2 hours and 51 minutes or so direct, no changes. A Regionale from Siena would take 7 hours and 53 minutes and require 2 train changes, in Chiusi and Rome, including 1 hour and 36 minute waiting in Rome for the next Regionale.
3. You can get a Super Economy ticket now in Premium Class (Standard Class with leather seats) for 29 euro on the Oct 1 train, where as buying last minute is 68 euro in Standard Class. The Regionale would cost 28.35 euro anytime, but there are limited trains. I could only find one connection per day using all-Regionale trains.

Most high speed lines do not cross particularly attractive landscapes, and the line between Florence and Bologna is almost entirely in tunnels. The landscape between Florence and Rome is beautiful, an the Umbrian section at high speed becomes almost ipnotic.

You can't compare travel from Siena, that is relatively slow to reach from any direction, to travel from Florence. With high speed trains from Florence you can reach most of Italy within 2 or 3 hours.

pamela,

Regarding your questions.....

1. Yes, one can see the scenery when travelling on high speed trains, but you'll have to contend with the support towers for the electrical overhead wires zipping by. You can get some idea at the 1M:55S mark on THIS video. A few other points to consider are that the scenery is better on some routes than others. Also, the "view" will depend to some extent on which version of the high speed trains you're riding on. Only the FrecciaRossa travels at 300 km/h, while the FrecciaArgento and FrecciaBianca travel at slower speeds.
2. The others have provided a good idea of the costs between high speed and Regionale trains. The time difference can be considerable, so the most efficient use of valuable holiday time is usually to travel via high speed.
3. The savings can be considerable between Super Economy and Base fare. The exact amount will vary slightly with the route. Super Economy tickets can be as low as about €9, but note that these are non-refundable and non-changeable once purchased.

Agree that you do see a lot of scenery on the high-speed trains. One difference is that regional trains stop in towns like Chiusi and Orvieto rather than zipping past them, but you actually get a very nice view of Orvieto from the right side of the train when heading south to Rome, maybe better than the regional train since the high-speed track is a little further from the cliffs. As you approach the Naples area, the high-speed trains tend to slow down and you get some good views of the fields of water buffalo.

Be aware that Regional Trains are highly traveled by locals, working gals and guys, students, soldiers. I have never yet sat down on a Regional train. I'm in the vestibule standing up.

It's worth traveling first or reserved second class on a high speed train 'cause you've got a reserved seat. Important on long distance trips.

Pam, you can see the scenery perfectly well from high-speed trains. I'll also add that, contrary to Sandra's experience, we've not yet encountered a standing-room only situation on a regional train, and we've used them quite a lot for day trips and other short journeys. It is possible for that to happen during busy holiday periods and on lines heavily used for morning/evening commutes but we haven't run into that situation (so far).

We also travel exclusively on 2nd class tickets: IMHO the difference in carriages don't warrant the extra price. Most higher-speed trains pretty much require reservations for either class so if you choose to travel on one of those, you'll have a seat.

Unlike Sandra I have stood only one Regionale for about 10 minutes at rush hour.

I've been riding Regionale trains for years and except for that one train this Spring at 8 am from Aquaduct park to Termini in Rome I haven't ever had to stand. The fresh air coming in through the open windows is often refreshing and pleasant.

I also never use First Class. Simply not worth the extra unless it is the same price.

Sometimes a Regionale or Regionale Veloce will use slightly older carriages which had both first and second class and the first class seats are sometimes declassified (sigh a paper pasted to the door) and available to second class tickets.