Regional train question?

18 minutes you can do it standing on your head - as long as both are at Firenze SMN. Some fast trains avoid reversing at SMN (a dead-end station) by calling at Campo de Marte instead - check your ticket. Do you have any mobility issues that would cause you to move extraordinarily slowly?

2 hours is just the wrong amount of time to have in Florence. Too short to do anything and far too long to not be bored.

I believe the 4-hour window starts with the time shown on the ticket. You could just buy on line the Freccia train from Florence SMN to Naples, then buy the regionale train from Siena to Florence SMN when you get to Italy. It will be dated for your travel date, but you can use it any time that day, just be absolutely sure to validate in the stamping machine just before you board the train.

I see an 8:48 train from Siena to Florence connecting to the Freccia to Naples with a 19 minute connection time. Is that the one you're talking about? If so, I see an 8:18 train that is a tad slower, but still gives you a 34 minute connection time. The 8:48 is coming from Orbitello, which is 2 hours south of Siena, so it could be running behind and reduce your connection time. The 8:18 originates at Siena, so will probably leave on time.

I don't know whether there's a diagram of Florence SMN online, but if there is, it would be helpful to print it out and take it with you. I believe I remember some confusion about platform numbers. It may be that there's a Track 1 and a Track 1N--something like that. You'll have enough time, but it will be very helpful to know in which direction you need to walk, once you get to a board that identifies the platform of your outbound train.

When you're traveling by train, pack as light as possible.

anyone know where to find a diagram of the Florence smn platforms?

With google street view, you can actually "walk" around the station. Binario (Track) 1 & 2 are off to the side, 5 to 16 in the main hall. Binario 3 & 4 are set back between 2 and 5.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.7764619,11.2473325,2a,75y,44.11h,85.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJ_OSY7Wr4USqsBLUUYVSkw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I think there must be a better diagram out there somewhere, because this one doesn't show the platform numbers. It does, however, show the key fact that there are two platforms off to the side that you might not be aware of if you just wandered around the station.

The good news is that this is a dead-end station, so you don't have to go down a flight of stairs, through a tunnel, and up another flight of stairs to change platforms.

And now you also know where the MacDonalds and the bathrooms are.

acraven, thanks for the map. The platforms appear to all be on the same level? Very helpful.

Where can we locate maps of the different train stations that we will be using?
Venice, Pisa, La Spezia, Empoli, Siena, Naples, Rome Termini

Especially La Spezia where we only have 6 minutes to find and board the next train.
Thanks to all!

I certainly think all the platforms are on the same level. It's rare to have anything different, but not unheard of.

Try Googling station diagram Venezia Santa Lucia, then substitute Pisa Centrale, La Spezia, Empoli, Siena, Napoli Centrale, Roma Termini. It will take some patience and may not always bear fruit. It's easier to find diagrams for stations in some other countries, for some reason.

I'm hoping someone else can direct us to a website with links to all of the Italian station webpages. Actually, this might be useful, but I can't be sure, because my computer is having memory issues at the moment and isn't properly displaying that webpage. It looks as if it has links to some of the major train stations. I don't know whether there are station layouts, though.

If you're switching from a mainline train to the Circumvesuviana at Napoli Centrale, I think that's a case where you may need to go to a different part of the building.

dg,

This website has information on the various stations you'll be using, although I'm not sure it includes maps. Regarding the tracks (Binari) at Firenze SMN, from what I remember the number starts with tracks 1 & 2 on the left, when facing the tracks. These are set back slightly from the others.

This website shows photos of La Spezia Centrale. There are probably photos of other stations as well, but I didn't check. When you arrive at La Spezia Centrale, check the electronic board for the track number of your next train and then hustle down to the sottopassagio if you have to change platforms. Everything should be well marked.

If you're using locally purchased Regionale tickets, DON'T forget to validate these prior to boarding the train on the day of travel.

After you have traveled a bit, you figure out that there are 2 types of stations in Europe, Through stations and a few Terminal type stations in big cities. Germans being German, they have very nice detailed diagrams of all larger stations available on the internet. Italians are like "Who needs all that information? All the stations are the same except for the number of tracks." So here is a diagram for a typical Through station, in this case, Munich-Pasing, a larger suburban station.

https://www.bahnhof.de/resource/blob/1022986/1bcf122688ffd20b72af4cf5956b9fe2/M%C3%BCnchen-Pasing_locationpdf-data.pdf

Note that this has 9 tracks numbered 2-10, (no No 1), ganged into 4 platforms with tracks on each side, and a side platform usually next to the station building. Underneath at ground level is the cross-over tunnel that connects via a stairway all the platforms to the main station building, where the ticket office is located along with rest rooms, businesses that sell things travelers need, like snacks, drinks, newspapers etc. So if you are connecting from a train that arrives on Track 9 to a train departing from Track 4, you get off, go down the stairs to the cross-over tunnel, walk a little ways to the stairway marked Tracks 3 & 4, walk up the stairs to the new platform and board your connecting train. You can see that should only take a couple of minutes. Some stations like this one have stairs, ramps, escalators, and even elevators. Don't count on elevators and escalators in Italy. Also, if the tracks are at ground level or underground, they have an overhead bridge instead of a tunnel. 99% of all the thousands of stations look similar to this one.

For big city Terminal stations, the layout is similar to this one, Munich Hauptbahnhof.

https://www.bahnhof.de/resource/blob/1023016/dd3779fe2eb8ca99bf71edb992320abd/M%C3%BCnchen-Hbf_locationPdf-data.pdf

This one has 32 tracks numbered 5-36, all on the same level. You don't have to go up or down any stairs. Nonetheless, it is obvious that changing trains at one of these stations can take longer, especially if you are in the last car of the train and have to walk the entire length of the train to get to the platform head, then along the platform head to your new track, then out to your assigned car if you have a seat reservation. And changing here from Track 6 to Track 32 is a long walk.

So for your stations, Florence Santa Maria Novella, Rome Termini, and Venice Santa Lucia are all Terminal stations. All the other ones are Through stations.

So for your stations, Florence Santa Maria Novella, Rome Termini, and Venice Santa Lucia are all Terminal stations.

and all have a site with maps. Those bloody Germans are spreading their mania all over Europe...

Note that all Terminal station have another thing in common in Italy: the head of the tracks always faces the main entrance and the square in front of it. Even in Milano Centrale you are basically going straight from Piazza Duca d'Aosta square to the tracks area, notwithstanding the 2 flights of stairs.

Unlike the German example linked above, in Italian pass-through stations track #1 is always the closest track to the passengers' building. It was the track where long distance and night trains to Rome and Milan stopped before WWII and that could be reached without using the underpass.

For the Siena-to-Florence route, you might want to take the bus, instead. The bus station is usually handier to Siena hotels than the train station, and the bus station in Florence is right next to the main train station.

Quick follow up after our trip to Italy. Thanks for all the helpful information. We found that all of the train stations were very well laid out and getting from ramp to ramp was quick and easy-both regional and High Speed. Thanks again.
Nice thing about using the train is it gives you a good feel for the different areas of Italy as you ride along, we enjoyed that. Especially riding in the Tuscany region.