Regional train ticket purchase at Italian train stations

Gw,

You can buy your Regionale train tickets at the train station up to 7 days in advance.

Regionale train tickets are valid for 2 months(from date of purchase), but once you validate it (date/time stamp) prior to boarding the train, it's good for 6 hours.

Each Regionale ticket is only valid from the departure city/arrival city that you specify.

If you want to visit Pisa, then just purchase ticket from Florence to Pisa then Pisa to La Spezia then La Spezia to Vernazza.

Edit: Keep in mind that the leg from Pisa to La Spezia can be on Regionals or Frecciabianca or Intercity.

I presume you know that there is no advantage in buying Regional train tickets in advance as they come with restrictions.
I usually buy my train tickets 1-2 days prior to day of travel.

Hi Priscilla, thanks for your reply, but I'm still confused. If Regionale train tickets are valid for 2 months, doesn't it effectively mean I can buy these tickets (at the station) up to 2 months in advance? One of the reasons why I am interested in advance purchase is that I will be touring Tuscany in a car for a week before taking the train from Florence to Vernazza. Unless I stop by a train station somewhere in Tuscany (Siena?) specifically to buy tickets beforehand, I will be looking at buying them in Florence on the day of travel, between returning the rental car and boarding the train. The time is tight, and I'm afraid last minute problem when buying tickets such as long lines and payment issue.

When I buy the tickets for Florence to Vernazza via La Spezia (just for train transfer, not for sightseeing), will I get a single ticket with both legs, or two tickets with one for each leg? If it is the latter, does it mean I have to buy each leg's ticket separately (Florence to La Spezia, then La Spezia to Vernazza) at the ticket machine?

My last question is that if I bought an 8 am regional train ticket to La Spezia a couple of days in advance, but somehow couldn't make it, could I use the same ticket to board the 10 am train to La Spezia, validating it just prior to boarding?

Last question first: Don't validate your regionale ticket until you know the train is on time (check the overhead board). You can validate the regionale before the train you do take (if you don't take the 8am train per your example). and it will remain valid for six hours after validation. If that train is delayed and your travel takes more than six hours, no problem, the conductor can tell from the validation code where you got on and knows the train schedule vs. actual time.

I remember three years ago buying a bunch of tickets at one time at a train station, some freccia trains and some regionale, almost three months in advance. Go to the Customer Care desk rather than hold up a long line. Or, you can go to any travel agent that sells train tickets (not all do). If your ticket involves a combination of fast and regionale trains, you can buy the entire ticket online up to 120 days in advance (I did this a month ago).

My last question is that if I bought an 8 am regional train ticket to La Spezia a couple of days in advance, but somehow couldn't make it, could I use the same ticket to board the 10 am train to La Spezia, validating it just prior to boarding?

Regional train tickets are not sold for specific dates and times. That's why you must activate each one, punching it in the box which puts a date and time stamp on it, and you must complete travel within a certain window, depending on the length of the trip.

The 7-day purchase window is an online restriction only. Your plan to buy multiple tickets at Termini should work fine, but if purchasing from a live agent, I could imagine them telling you to buy tickets later if they have a line of customers and think your needs are not pressing. Travel agents, smaller stations, or less busy times of day can be more accommodating.

We haven't rode the train since 2008 and is there a box at the train stations that you punch the tickets? I barely remember doing that the last time. And those are usually at the smaller train stations?
Thanks!

Judy, I'm sure gw300 won't mind us answering your question on their thread -

Yes, if a ticket is for a Regionale train, or a Regionale Veloce train, it MUST be validated at the little machine before you get on the train. The boxes have changed. They used to be squarish and yellow, now they are mostly aerodynamic and greenish. Put the ticket in short edge first and push until you hear the printing clunk. Take it out and make sure that the printing is clear. If not, go to another machine.

If you are using anything faster:-- InterCity, Frecciabianca, Frecciargento, Frecciarossa, or Italo, you don't validate because your ticket is for a specific seat in a particular car at a particular time on a particular day and can't be used elsewise.

If you have bought a Regionale ticket online for some reason you don't validate that either because it is already validated for a 4 hour restricted period of time. That's why we don't suggest buying Regionale tickets on line.

There are validation machines at every station, large and small. Sometimes on every platform, sometimes in the tunnel underneath, sometimes somewhere else. But it is somewhere...

The validation boxes look greenish-grey but they are actually red, white and green. The red is around the border of the box so you barely see it. A few stations still have yellow boxes but they are all being replaced.

Thank you all!

Gw,

I owe you an apology as I meant to write that you can buy Regionale train tickets online up to 7 days in advance.

I understand you wanting to buy your Regional tickets in advance (in Italy) & you can certainly do this at any train station
that has a ticket office, at a self-serve ticket machine or in a travel agency as suggested by Laura & Zoe.

To answer your first question:

When I buy the tickets for Florence to Vernazza via La Spezia (just for train transfer, not for sightseeing), will I get a single ticket with both legs, or two tickets with one for each leg? If it is the latter, does it mean I have to buy each leg's ticket separately (Florence to La Spezia, then La Spezia to Vernazza) at the ticket machine?

If you buy the Florence to Vernazza ticket via La Spezia, you will get one ticket & it will specify departing city as 'Firenze' & arrival
city as 'Vernazza' 'via La Spezia'-- see examples below.

• Example #1: I chose April 1, 7 am for this example which involves 2 Regional trains (check trenitalia website):

Regionale (23353) departing @ 09:53 Firenze S. M. Novella with train
transfer ( Regionale24494) at La Spezia Arriving @ 13:37 Vernazza. (€14,30pp)

• Example #2: Same date & time as above but this time it involves 2 Regional trains & Frecciabianca ( high speed) train.

  Regionale Veloce (3111) Departing @08:28 Firenze S. M. Novella arriving to Pisa Centrale @ 09:28 then Frecciabianca (9764) departing
  Pisa Centrale @ 09:47 & arriving @ La Spezia @ 10:37 then Regionale (24490) departing La Spezia @ 11:10 arriving Vernazza
  
  @11:28 (€24,90pp)

• Example #3: Same date & time as above chosen

  Departing 10:28 Firenze S. M. Novella arriving Vernazza 13:20, this
  option will take aRegionale Veloce (3117), an Intercity train ( 670)
  & another Regional train(11261) (17,80 € pp 2nd class)

So as Zoe explained above, examples 2 & 3 involve a high speed train or Intercity train, so you can buy these tickets in advance online up to 120 days in advance & you may save $.

If you choose to buy these tickets online, keep in mind that your travel dates must be firm as the discounted tickets will be unchangeable & nonrefundable.

Judy & Gw,

Check this website to see a picture of a self-service ticket vending machine & ticket validating machine:http://www.italyvacations.com/train-tickets-italy

You may also like this very informative website: http://www.seat61.com

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. I got all information that I wanted to know, and more! The validation machine location info is useful.

Zoe, about online purchasing of tickets involving a combination of fast and regionale trains, I'm not able to do that because I'm not a registered user of trenitalia. One has to be an Italian resident with an Italian address to register. So I only purchased the fast train tickets. I think Nigel gave another good reason why not to buy regionale tickets online in order to keep the flexibility.

Laura, thanks for reminding me not holding up the line with multiple ticket purchase at the same time. I plan to do it in late evening at a ticket machine after a day of sightseeing in Rome. I'll take a stroll to the Termini after dinner. Hopefully it is a less busy time.

Priscilla, no problem at all. Since you said Regionale train tickets are valid for 2 months( from date of purchase) earlier, I guessed you didn't mean what you wrote about the 7-day limit.

gw, I am registered with Trenitalia and I am not an Italian resident. You can use any address, Trenitalia corresponds with you only via email. I think I used a hotel address, but you can use Trenitalia's if you want.

I think some of the prior responses have been confusing and slightly in error. See if I can make this simpler. Two ways to buy Regionale tickets - AT a station or travel agency OR on on-line.

On-line can only be purchased seven days in advance. It comes to you as a PDF file just like all the other tickets. But it also has a start day and start for when you can use the ticket. It does not need to be time stamped (validated) as It will show a route, A to B, Tuesday, 900. It is essentially pre-validated. And that ticket is good for 4 hours. That means that anytime between 900 and 1300 on Tuesday, dd/mm/yy you may board any Regionale train between A and B. You can not use it prior to 900 and obviously it is dead after 1300. So that is why most recommendations are that you buy a Regionale ticket at the station. A little more flexibility.

Train Station/Travel Agency. A Regionale ticket purchased at the station can be used anytime during the 60 days after the date of purchase. So you can easily purchase at the station more than seven days in advance. The ticket only shows the route A to B. So when you decide to use. You go to the station, find the Regionale train you want to take, validate (time stamp) your ticket in a box on the back of the station or near the head of the platform or sometimes on the platform. Just look around for the locals stamping their tickets. Once stamped you can board any Regional train between A and B for FIVE hours. And - if going A to C, you can get off at B and back on later to C PROVIDED you do it within the time window.

Also, if you're buying a regional ticket to get on a train departing imminently, the machines that sell the tickets have a validation slot.

I'm sorry to bump this thread but I would like some clarification.

Are the regional tickets valid from Point A to B and also Point B back to A within 6 hours from the validated time? Meaning if I board a train from Florence - Pisa with the ticket, I am able to use the same ticket to go back to Florence within the time frame? Does this mean the tickets aren't classified as "one-way" or "return"?

Thanks very much for any help given.

First, your should post your own questions instead of hijacking someone else since the original poster gets all the notices of answers to your question. Second, with Regionale tickets you generally buy from point A to B AND B to A. Sometimes there are promotions for one day tickets, RT, etc., with different rules applying. However, if you buy a ticket from A to B, you cannot ride the other direction since you don't have a ticket in that direction.

Thank you, Frank, Zoe and Harold, for the additional information and clarification. It is abundantly clear to me now. I already feel like a seasoned train traveler in Italy even though I haven't started this trip yet, thanks to your help. What a wonderful community.

gw, I hope you let us know how it goes.

Buon viaggio!