Italian Trains

Hey there: your best bet is to read over the Seat 61 page on Italian trains: https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

It's got everything you need to know!

Hi. It is different in other countries, but in Italy, this is very simple - there is never an option / decision as to whether to buy a seat reservation.
- For regional trains, there are no reservations for anyone, so not a choice.
- For other trains (Intercity, Freccia), the reserved seat is automatically included in your ticket at no extra charge.
Have a great trip!

It's important to know which type of trains you'll be using on each leg of your trip. If you're travelling on a Regionale train, no reservations are required, but as you noted if all the seats are occupied, you may have to stand until a seat is availabe. If you're using a paper ticket bought at the station either from a self serve kiosk or a staffed ticket office, the ticket must be validated (time & date stamped) in one of the machines just prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. Failure to do so could result i hefty fines which will be collected on the spot.

This short video shows how to buy tickets from one of the kiosks and validate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja7EotElSUc . The kiosks do offer an English language option.

If you're travelling on an express train (Freccia, Intercity), seat reservations are compulsory and you won't be standing as you'll have an assigned coach number and seat. However it's important to note that the seat reservations are specific to train, date and departure time and can only be used on the one train specified on the ticket. If you board any other train even by mistake, again you'll be subject to hefty fines. Tickets for express trains do not have to be validated.

In addition to the state-owned Trenitalia rail network, there's also the competing Italo Treno rail network, which only operates on the high speed lines. Italo tickets also have reservations, and you can easily recognize their trains by the deep maroon colour.

It's a good idea to keep track of your luggage while on trains, so that it doesn't "disappear" during the trip. Also, many towns in Italy have more than one station, so you'll need to know which stations you'll be using on each trip.

You may find this helpful - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/italy-rail-passes .

As explained by Ken, it is not complicated. One additional comment, IF you are using a train pass in Italy, you do have to pay for a seat reservation prior to boarding. It used to be 10e per leg. The exception is Regionale "R" trains. Think of the Regionale train as a bus on rails. --- However, it is the cheapest and slowest but arrives at the same stations as the fast trains. You have three fare levels on all trains (again, except Regionale). Super Economy, Economy, and Base. The first two are discount tickets and basically --- NO refund, NO change. Base is the standard fare.

Also reference your previous post:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/i-need-advice-with-trains