Orvieto Train Door "Issue"

Not laughing at you...laughing with you! Have seen this happen a number of times...usually there is someone nearby who knows...we do help the folks who do not know. Some trains open automatically and some do not - darned if I can tell...until we stop! Now...you can help the ones do not too!

look on the bright side

you met a friendly local Italian conductor, you saw the next station on the line, you had a free train journey, and now you're an expert on Italian train doors :-)

You are not the first this has happened to, and you won't be the last.
Here you have to press a button to open the tram (or train) doors. You can press it before the tram stops, and the door then opens as soon as the tram stops. A tourist uses the tram, usually a local gets off as well and has already pressed the button, but the tourist does not notice this. Then one time the tourist is the only person wanting to get off. But the door does not open. Panic.
I have seen it happen many times.

Yes, the older train doors do not have a button, but a handle on the door which sometimes needs a heavy yank to get them open.

Thanks for posting the info, we are doing the same route in February (let us know if it worth a day trip). This is the kind of little nuances I pick up from fellow travelers here on the forum. Then when we are traveling with family, they are always so impressed by my knowledge of the local customs, so to speak. FYI, They have the buttons on the trains in Amsterdam.

barb,

Thanks for posting, as I'm sure the information will be of help to others.

I typically encounter three types of door releases on Italian trains.

• the type you described, where the door is pulled sideways to open (seems to be used mostly on Regionale trains).
• the door release is a chrome plated lever that has to be rotated to release the door.
• a pushbutton surrounded by a lighted panel. When the panel changes from red to green, the door can be opened.

Some of the dumbest things I have done traveling have made the best stories when I return home. When you talk to future travelers, you can always relate this story and you will be thanked each time. One of the funniest mistakes I made, was remembering the street name I was on so I wouldn't get lost after wandering all thru the city. The only problem was the name of the street: "Einbahnstrasse". When I came across two streets with the same name, I realized my mistake. Einbahnstrasse means "One Way Street". Now I had a great story to tell upon my return.

Yosemite, I am glad you admitted to that. I thought the story of the tourist looking for their hotel on "Einbahnstrasse" was an urban myth.
There is also the story of the lost tourist who asked a taxi driver to take them to "Hotel Eingang", which was the name on the hotel door. *Hotel Eingang" = Hotel entrance.

Another example is the driver who exits the motorway to find the town of Ausfahrt.

Chris,
What makes my story even more embarrassing is thatI had 2 years of German in high school and knew what Einbahnstrasse means. I just saw the word strasse and knew it meant street. I didn't bother to translate the whole word until I saw two streets with the same name. Boy, did I ever feel foolish.

The only thing that saved me from being totally lost was what I learned from hiking in the outdoors. Always take a look behind you so that you will recognize the route on the way back.

I, for one greatly appreciate you posting this! The first time we used a train, we were lucky enough to not be the first out the door. I am not sure we would have known to use the handle to open the doors if we had been the only passengers departing. I am loving the other learning experiences posted, too!

Well. My wife has another door issue.
In America most doors (including bathroom doors) have handles or knobs that you lock by turning or pressing the little button.
In Italy interior doors are generally locked using an old fashioned key. Somehow my wife struggles with those keys and I can't even count how many times I had to rescue her from inside bathrooms where she locked herself.

We actually ran into difficulties getting off a regionale with a stubborn door that even very helpful locals couldn't figure out. Ended up with a few of us throwing ourselves bodily at the thing, and then it closed on me when I was halfway out! That was a tense moment but managed to free myself at the last second with a frantic bit of wiggling. Whew.

Great stories everyone! Even after countless trips we do dumb things. Got a train going the wrong way a couple of weeks ago. Luckily the next stop was less than 10 minutes away and the train in the right direction not far off.

We may have to have a "learn from the pain of others" discussion.

I'd be willing to bet we have all gotten on the wrong train or subway at least once!

I hate those old train doors, the ones with the handles and then the steep steps down. They make me panic every time.

Years ago I came within an inch of being left behind with my purse luggage and ID on the train with my husband when I suddenly thought maybe I needed to compost our tickets (I didn't, it was a seat assigned reserved tickets and those don't need composting) I almost jumped off to do it, I thought I had a couple of minutes. As I stood there by the door deliberating, those sucker clicked locked and a few seconds later we took off. I would have had an I hope hilarious story to tell if I had been left behind without money or ID and low language skill on that train platform. I think it was the Thalys.

FWIW bus doors in Chicago require pushing a button and frequently we have newbies standing there in spit of huge signs telling them to 'press here' waiting for the doors to open. Most bus drivers are very kind to the clueless.

Emma, the doors will not open until the driver presses the "release" button. This is a safety feature to stop people falling out when the train is not at a station. As soon as he "releases" the doors, the button lights up and everybody jumps to press the button.
He then presses another button to close the doors, and this is interlocked with the brakes so he cannot release the brakes until all the doors are closed.

In Switzerland the logic is the other way around. You can press the button before the train/tram stops. It lights up and "remembers" it has been pressed, like a lift button. Then as soon as the train stops and the driver presses the release button the door opens. It stops the mad rush of everybody hovering with their finger over the button waiting for it to light up.
This is such an obvious improvement I am surprised it has not been adopted in the UK.

Often when one of the more modern trains arrives in a platform it
takes a short while for the buttons that open the door to activate. I
was told that this is because the train carriages have to gps locate
into the platform before they will open, for safety reasons.

Short digression into British train operation. If you don't want to know the score, look away now.

On virtually all modern (post slam door) British train equipment the doors are operated by the train crew. None - that I am aware of - uses a computer to do the door opening.

There are basically three current modes of door control, depending on the class of train, and the company operating the trains (and the result of strikes and grass roots campaigns to keep the guard on the train).

There is driver only operation where the driver either has mirrors or platform mounted screens or in cab screens so that the driver can try to see the platform and make sure the doors can be operated safely. If the driver has stopped in the right spot these can be quite quick to be released (made available to be opened by the public when the little green light goes on). They may or may not close quickly too, depending on if the driver has a clear view. Among the companies doing that are Thameslink, some inner Southern, TFL, some Chiltern, and the Underground.

There is driver released, guard closed or guard instructed closure. The driver pulls to a point and releases the doors, the guard steps on the platform for safety checks and maintains control of both platform and closing of doors. This can be a relatively quick release when the driver is correctly positioned. Chiltern, Cross Country, Virgin West Coast, Overground.

Then there is the safest method where the guard (Conductor) steps off the train after it has arrived in a station, visually checks the safety of the platform and positioning of the train, sometimes having to walk a little distance if the view is obscured by a bend or crowds, and then the guard presses the buttons to release the doors. This is the safest because the guard can move around for the best view and can see disabled or slow passengers, but also the slowest so there may be a 10 second delay sometimes before the green light goes on. Once the platform is clear of joining and alighting passengers it is the guard who makes the doors close and lock. London Midland, East Midlands, Southwestern, much of Southern, Gatwick Express, Southeastern, Great Western, Arriva Wales, and most other companies outside London.

Does that help explain or make it more confusing?

Yes, we've all made these kind of mistakes at one time or another.

A note for subway users: On the Paris Metro, pushing the button or lifting the handle opens both doors. But on the Vienna U-Bahn, it only opens that door; the other side stays shut. I saw locals use a quick back and forth motion to activate both handles and open both doors. I really felt like a local when I learned to imitate them!

Thanks for posting -- I will be in Italy in September. We almost got stuck on a train in Poland because we couldn't get the door open, so I totally understand.