Railroad Train porter

Where are you going to be? How much luggage do you have?

Generally no. Over past 20+ years of travel I have seen a couple of stations that had uniform porters who transported your luggage from the curb to the platform but never on to the train. I have not see these porters in recent years. However, there are some friendly folks who might offer to for a little while till they determine if you anything interesting in your pockets or purse. Those should generally be avoided.

I can't remember seeing any Porters (wasn't really looking for them), although there could be some. There may not be too many private individuals working as Porters in the larger stations, since the Italians have been installing "gates" (similar to an airport) and only those with tickets get past those gates to access the tracks. You'll likely be hauling your own luggage, so be sure to pack light.

Specifically we are traveling June 2 from Florence to Milan on the high speed train with lots of luggage due to the nature and length of our trip. Hence. The need for an expedited way from Rental Car Return to our train seat. Where is luggage stored for the trip? This is our first and only train trip during the Italian trip.

I have seen porters in Rome -- official, approved porters -- and I think they have them in Milano, but I am not sure about Florence.

You also asked Where is luggage stored for the trip? This is our first and only train trip during the Italian trip. Luggage is stored above seats, between seatbacks where an "A" frame forms, and in luggage racks at the end of each car. It is first come, first served.

Why don't you send an email to tourist information in Florence and ask for some advice at that end? The rental car return is a little bit away from the station as I recall, so you'll need to have a strategy for that. Then contact Milan's TI with the same. OR your hotels may be of assistance if you contact them.

presssnoop, you asked "Where is luggage stored for the trip?". It isn't stored anywhere, not in the sense that someone stores it for you. You look after your own luggage. All luggage is "hand luggage", you have to get it on and off the train yourself.
Railway porters died out in the 1960's.

For full information about luggage on trains see: http://seat61.com/luggage-on-european-trains.htm#.VycOWTF6mUk
This is the best site on the internet fro information about train travel.

I remember seeing tv ads for a luggage service in Italy - they pick it up at your departure hotel/apartment, and deliver it to your next destination. That was last summer, I don't know how well it worked out.

Another idea is to eliminate some luggage by shipping it home from a Mailboxes Etc. facility before you take your train ride.

Or another idea is to keep the rental car until Milan provided you have parking in Florence. Your hotel could give you advice on where to park and you could use a taxi to get from parking to your hotel if they aren't in the same vicinity.

Unfortunately the car rental dropoff area in Borgo Ognissanti is close enough to be within walking distance from the station, but distant enough to be a trouble if you have heavy luggage. You could drop the luggage and a person at the station and then drop off the car - but the itinerary you would have to do to deal with the ZTL would be quite complex.

About porters: apparently there are but very few of them. The info on Trenitalia English and Italian page is different and conflicting. Do not assume there will be some waiting for you unless you reserve them in advance.

Consider if this service could be any use for you:
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en/Services/Luggage-transport-services

That was the service.

presssnoop, apologies if you already know this but a general caution about dealing with "lots of luggage" in Europe? Unless you've carefully planned your trip to avoid it, you'll be dealing with that luggage on your own a lot in addition to on/off trains. With the rare exception where stored luggage was moved to our room while we were off sightseeing, we've managed our own up (and down) a fair amount of stairs in European hotels which did not have lifts. It's possible that they had staff which could have done that but the expectation is that you do it yourself. Pack lighter; do laundry. :O)

....lots of luggage due to the nature and length of our trip.......

We might able to give more helpful answers if you total just how much luggage you intend to have. You may have to rely more heavily on taxis or book different types of hotels. And if you have many pieces (two or three bags each) it will be difficult to find room near you seat on the train.

To be even more specific, we will be in Europe seven weeks, and one large heavy suitcase is devoted to motorcycle gear. Shipping it has proved logistically problematic, so we're carrying it with us. We have just the one train trip to worry about schlepping the luggage, and that's the reason for my query - getting from rental car/cab onto to train and off with the luggage. Everything else we've worked out. We will be storing our luggage while riding motorcycles for two weeks. Are there any helpful porter-type services for the Italo train system? I can't find anything on the train websites. Thank you.

MONA

There are 12 of us staying at a villa in the Umbria countryside outside Florence. Once we leave there in our rental cars, we take the train to Milan where we go to Milan Hotel. Next day with luggage stored, we pick up motorcycles in Milan and ride for two weeks, return, and reverse the processs. The only part we have't worked out is getting the luggage from the rental car return onto train and off again. There are two train systems, Italo and Trentalia. It's been difficult getting detailed information from their websites on the luggage part of the trip, hence my queries. This is our first trip in Italy and on the train. Thanks.

presssnoop, the reason you haven't been able to find any station porter luggage services is because there aren't any.
You are responsible for schlepping your own luggage, as explained in: http://seat61.com/luggage-on-european-trains.htm

Italo and Trentalia are not really "two train systems", they both use the same stations and tracks, the railways operate like toll roads (or like airports), the train operator pays "access charges" the same way as road tolls or landing fees. They both run at the same speed (trains cannot overtake each other), they compete on services and convenient times.

If you really can't get your luggage from the rental office to the station, through the station and onto the train you need to rethink. And if it is so big that beafy bikers cannot carry it, you will have trouble finding space on the train. Is it possible to re-distribute it so each person has one manageable piece of luggage?
If all else fails you may have to drive to Milan.

P.S. the link lachera posted earlier looks interesting: http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en/Services/Luggage-transport-services

I tried the link to Trenitalia, it worked fine. The page is in English.

press,

"There are two train systems, Italo and Trentalia. It's been difficult getting detailed information from their websites on the luggage part of the trip, hence my queries."

The reason that you may be having difficulty getting information, is that transport of luggage doesn't have many options. Each passenger handles their own luggage and is responsible for getting it on and off the trains. There are luggage racks at the end of each car, but as someone mentioned earlier those are "first come, first served" and they often fill up quickly. You can also store bags in the "A" between seats and smaller items on the rack above your seats.

You'll probably find that when the train starts boarding, there will be bit of a "stampede" as passengers disembark and then board. One other thing to keep in mind is that on the fast trains that you'll be using from Florence to Milan you'll have compulsory seat reservations, so you'll have to sit in your assigned Car (Carrozza) and Seat No.'s (Posti). Those will be listed on your tickets. Since this is your first trip to Italy and on the trains, you'll also have to be clear on which stations you're using, which will likely be Firenze S.M. Novella and Milano Centrale. Tickets on the fast trains are specific to train, date and departure time, so can ONLY be used on the ONE train listed on the ticket. If you board the wrong train for whatever reason, you'll be subject to hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!

You also mentioned rental cars. Note that each driver listed on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are easily obtained at any AAA office for a small fee and valid for one year. You'll have to be extremely vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) zones as hefty fines will result for each pass through one of those, which you probably won't know about until several months after you return home. Also be sure to watch your speed, as there are automated cameras as well as the Traffic Tutor system, which not only monitors instantaneous speed but also average between two points. Violate either one and tickets will follow.

How far is your Villa outside of Florence? Florence is in Tuscany, and Umbria is a ways south.

Ken mentioned that you will have specific carriage/seat assignments on the high-speed train. Allow a bit of extra time at the station to find the board showing the make-up of the train, which is usually located on the platform used by the train. Find your assigned carriage on the diagram and estimate where it will be positioned along the platform when the train comes to a stop. I've seen overhead letters (A, B, C, etc.) keyed to markings on the train diagram, but I'm not sure whether that was in Italy or Germany. In my experience, you may--despite your best efforts--not manage to position yourself close to where your carriage stops. I often found myself hoofing it down the platform past several carriages. When that happens, other travelers get access to the luggage racks before you do, which is not a good thing.

In reply to acraven: for Frecciarossa trains, cars are numbered, usually 1 to 11. As the train approaches, boards over the platform will light up showing approximately where each car is. The trouble is, in Florence the boards will light up only a couple of minutes before the train arrives, so the "stampede" effect is only partially mitigated by this. - The problem is, you never know which way will be the train oriented, so while cars 5-6-7 are always in the centre of the platform, car 1 or car 11 could be at the very beginning or the very end, and you can barely get to the end of the platform in two minutes.

As for the original poster, I would very much consider a courier service and send the bulky luggage with motorcycle gear in advance to Milan.

If you do not care to use the door-to-door service described on the Trenitalia site, here's what you might do:

• In Firenze, one of you can to be dropped at the station to wait with the luggage while the other goes to the rental car return location, drops the car, and walks over to meet the person waiting. It's not as easy as in the U.S. to return a car and this means you need adequate lead time for your departure. Hopefully, you will find a porter (Perhaps I've just never noticed them in Firenze), or you will have to schlepp it yourselves. Note, I think you can get to Stazione Santa Maria Novella without crossing into the ZTL.

• Alternatively, get rid of your car the evening before and have a taxi take you to Firenze SMN. You still have to hope for a porter or schlepp yourselves. (This assumes you are spending a night in Firenze.)

• In Milano, you will find porters working the trains. They can help you get to a taxi.

The only (legitimate) luggage porter I have ever seen in an Italian train station was in Venice when the Simplon Venice Orient Express was in the station.

Otherwise, if someone approaches and volunteers to handle your luggage, keep a firm hand on all your belongings.

Have you looked at

www.luggagemule.com

They handle shipping from US to Italy. They also ship luggage within Italy - Florence to Milan

Any attempt to drop passengers and luggage at the train in Florence and then return the car will almost certainly incur expensive tickets that will wipe out any savings made by not having shipped the gear home. It is theoretically possible to return the car in town but many many people make a mistake, drift into a bus lane, go around the block confused here and there and end up with several 100 Euro plus tickets in a few minutes. I'd drop at the airport and take a cab to the station.

You can't do European trains with more luggage than you can handle.

If you are coming back to a city, maybe you could store some of the luggage at a hotel or the train station. Also, I found that business class tickets provided less people to worry about and the ability to store luggage in a "V" type area under the seats. Smaller items can go over head or under your seat. You also may have to store larger pieces at the ends of the train cars. If you are worried about someone taking a large piece stored at the end of the train, use a bicycle lock to secure it. At least in business class on train trips from Milan-Venice; Venice-Florence and Florence-Milan, no one seemed too concerned about their luggage. I did not see a porter on any of the above routes. But it was not difficult to left a large piece of luggage onto the train.