Questions on train system in Italy

I had several of the same concerns, but was assured that regional train connections are often brief and the distance between platforms is usually small. Check the schedules to see how often your desired trains run to have a backup plan should a train be late and/or you miss your connections. Purchasing ahead is apparently not needed (or possible) for regional or local trains, but reservations are necessary for the popular fast trains. Remember that a reservation still requires a corresponding ticket purchase. I have no idea about the luggage capacity.

There are many great threads on this forum about train travel. A quick search for something "train travel" or "train connections" on the Italy forum should yield you the answers you are looking for from people much more knowledgeable than I. Happy travels!

A 120-liter suitcase is quite large--perhaps 32" high. If filled, it seems it would weigh a lot. You will be responsible for getting that bag onto and off the trains. The only place it will fit will be the dedicated luggage racks. You won't be able to store it on the shelf above your seat, on the floor under your seat, or between two back-to-back seats. You will be boarding the Frecciabianca train at one of its intermediate stops, so it's difficult to predict whether there will be space available for your bag on the luggage racks.

The Seat61 website (https://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm) may have some photos showing Frecciabianca luggage racks. If not, I'm sure you can find videos on YouTube.

Ok, so since the short connection timing and that is the only timing that fits my schedule (i have another train from florence sm to bolzano at 1230hrs), if i missed on the regional ... no issue to take on the next avail train rite?

Don't panic about the change - if you miss the 9:09, there is another local train at 9:32. In fact, there are a further 5 regionals that will get you to SMN before 12:30. (9:54, 10:01, 10:32, 10:54 and 11:09). As you have mentioned, no reservations are required for the regionale and regionale veloce trains.

2 you are able to take the next couple of Regionale trains without any charges.

3 It depends on the fare, not on the train. Discounted tickets are wasted the moment your Freccia / IC train departs, full price Base tickets can be changed up to one hour after the departure of the booked train.

Regarding handling your luggage on trains: You not only need to be able to get your heavy luggage on and off the trains, you will likely have to lug them up and down long stairways to get to the proper platform. Just three days ago, I had to transfer at one of the Genoa train stations in 7 minutes, and it involved a LONG stairway down, a dash down a hallway to another set of stairs, and another LONG stairway up! Then a quick walk down part of the platform to find a car that looked like there was space for me.

Pack your luggage and go somewhere with stairways, maybe a large shopping mall. See if you can go up a couple flights of stairs, walk to another stairway, and go down a couple flights - or vice versa.. Then go home and pack lighter.

I’m not saying it’s wrong to bring such a giant piece of luggage, but I am very curious as to why?
Last year there was a girl on a train I was on with TWO enormous bags, but she was moving to Italy and had just arrived.
Perhaps you are doing that?

The space on trains is limited, the aisles are narrow, and there are often two or three high steps up into the train from the platform.
Good advice about packing your big case and taking it around town with you at home first.
Otherwise, trains in Italy are great.

Hi, dont worry about the bags, but to anwer your question is, everyone have a different travel style. i dont travel alone, im travelling with my family. thank you.

“reservations are necessary for the popular fast trains. Remember that a reservation still requires a corresponding ticket purchase.”

I’ve taken the trains many of times but not since 2016. Is there now a reservation required in addition to purchasing a ticket?

Thanks in advance for clarification anyone can provide.

I should have stated that long-distance trains generally need the reservation, not necessarily all fast trains.

Here's some info I found on the Italia Rail website. Not that I necessarily recommend you using them, but this at least gives you what I was referring to:

A good rule of thumb is that reservations are usually required on premium trains including: overnight trains, high-speed trains and International trains.... Some of the most popular trains require passengers to purchase a seat reservation, in addition to the cost of the (ticket).... Day trains, for example the high-speed trains in any country, require seat reservations.

Info from The Man In Seat 61:

Trenitalia's top high-speed trains are the 300 km/h (186 mph) Frecciarossas, operated by the original ETR500 trains shown below and the latest Frecciarossa 1000 trains introduced from 2015, all with free WiFi. As with all Trenitalia's long-distance trains, tickets always include a seat reservation - in other words, you can't just turn up and hop on, you need to buy a ticket which will include a seat reservation for a specific train, but you can do this right up until departure using the self-service machines or at the ticket office. Frecciarossa tickets are only valid on the specific date and train you've booked.

In Italy all Freccia-something and Intercity trains (i.e. all trains except the Regionales) have only reserved seats and the reservation is always included in the ticket.

There are Regionale trains running at 160 kph between Turin and Milan, but you can't reserve a seat even if they cover a long distance.

Always best to hear directly from a local!

Just to clarify, @Dario: while a ticket includes a reservation on the trains you mentioned, a reservation does not imply being ticketed... correct?

@dario thank you! I am booking freccia, so select the seats when buying the tickets, one and done. I noticed it wants an additional €2/each when selecting seats. I don’t recall this in the past but it’s been awhile. I appreciate the confirmation!

@Dario: while a ticket includes a reservation on the trains you mentioned, a reservation does not imply being ticketed... correct?

Sorry, I do not understand. Unless you have a pass, The seat reservation and the ticket are basically the same thing. You can't get one without getting the other on trenitalia.com.

I don’t recall this in the past but it’s been awhile.

It's a new way Trenitalia has found to make money. Unless one frantically wants one of the seats with a table to finish a job during the journey, it's quite a waste of 2 €. The system will always seat passengers that get tickets together as close as possible, otherwise conductors would waste too much time when checking e-tickets. And people switch seats all the time.

While the stairs are often quite high, there is often an elevator for each platform.

Most train stations have multiple platforms. Let's say there are 10. That would mean 5 actual platforms (since each physical platform has 2 sides). To go from 3 to 4 is just to go across the platform. To go from 3 to 5, you go to the middle to the subway, go down the stairs, walk to the next stairway and go up. We usually took the elevator, if it was there. Usually (90% of the time), the elevator was working.