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Monterosso to Venice by train

Posted by on

I'm in Monterosso right now. I bought most of our (longer) train travel in advance through Trenitalia's website before we left the US. This includes the trip from Monterosso to Venice on June 20. Now that I've spent a day in Cinque Terre, I see how late the trains run, and I realize there is a very good chance those delays are going to mess up our current itinerary, which is

Monterosso-Pisa Centrale (9:05 - 10:17)
Pisa Centrale - Firenze (10:32 - 11:32)
Firenze - Venezia SL (12:15 - 14:20)

I can reduce the number of connections from 2 to 1 by going via Milano Centrale. That trip will take about an hour longer, and I like the fact there's one fewer connection. However, the connection in Milan is also a 15-minute connection, just like the current reservation via Pisa.

So how should I plan to travel to Venice given the trains are late but the connection timings are tight? The tickets I already bought (Monterosso to Venice via Pisa and Florence) were on "Bimbini Gratis" fare, so it's refundable (minus 20%) and changeable before departure.

Posted by
16895 posts

15 minutes should be a generous connection time in the relatively small Pisa station. Do try to be at the door of the train will before the scheduled stop, so you don't get stuck at the end of the line of passengers descending.

That 9:05 departure is an InterCity type of train, which I'm hoping would have a better on-time record that sme regional trains, but really no guarantee. If a train is significantly late, I would expect the railway to accommodate you on the next train, but I have not confirmed details.

15 minutes is also usually fine in Milano Centrale station. While bigger, it's a terminus station, with all lines ending in one big room, instead of tunnels or overpasses to the other tracks.

Posted by
17601 posts

I think the delays are more common on the Pisa route, especially if there are Regionale trains involved. Our train from Pisa to La Spezia was very late.

Leaving Cinque Terre by the Milan route was by contrast very easy. Mthe IC train from Monterosso to Milan was right on time. And it was nice to have one less connection to worry about.

Posted by
32405 posts

49,

The only train that could be a bit late on the routes you mentioned is the first segment via InterCity from Monterosso to Pisa Centrale. At that time of the morning, it will likely be less busy than later in the day so you may be fine. As you've already bought tickets, it would seem a shame to throw the money down the drain and pay Base fare for new tickets via Milan.

Posted by
12 posts

Thanks for everyone's help. I went ahead and changed the routing to go via Milano Centrale. The difference in fare was only 16 Euro, mostly because the 24 Euros I paid for the Regionale train on the old routing (Pisa - Firenze) was not refunded. If you know how I can get the 24 Euros back (if at all), please let me know.

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