Regional trains and "Cinque Terre Express"

except for exceptions foreseen with specific regional tariffs

It means that in some regions the time window is not 4 hours long, it will be written on your e-ticket. I've never heard about a 3 hours period, I know it's 6 hours in Lombardy and 75 minutes in Liguria.

The cinque terre express is a regional train.

and haven't heard anything in two hours.

I'd open a new session

(I think this applies whether the ticket was purchased at the station or online.)

Yes, but if you purchase at the station the clock starts when you time-stamp your ticket.

If you purchase on-line the clock starts with the departure of the selected train. This is why even those that buy regionale tickets on-line do it just before getting on.

Maybe you already know it, but note that Regionale trains have no reserved seats and can't sell out.

Thank you, Dario! Am I correct that Cinque Terre and La Spezia are in Liguria? That's certainly good to know about the 75 minutes.

Hi Trudy. Yes, CT and La Spezia are in Liguria. My regional ticket purchased in CT from our trip a few years ago says it is good for 75 minutes after you time stamp it. Enjoy your trip!

Trudy,

Just to clarify, if you purchase tickets for Regionale trains online, these will be pre-validated and can be used within the time period printed on the ticket (typically four hours). The price is always the same for Regionale trains, regardless of whether the tickets are bought online or at the station. If you buy tickets locally, you must validate these (time & date stamp) in the machines in the station, prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. Failure to do so may result in hefty fines, which will be collected on the spot!

One other scenario to cover is that if you purchase a ticket for a Regionale train such as the Cinque Terre Express, you'll have to ensure to board only that train. In some cases, Intercity trains also travel through the C.T. and your ticket won't be valid for those as you won't have the compulsory seat reservation. That can also lead to hefty fines.

Oh my goodness, thanks, Ken. I know it's maybe better to wait to buy the regional tickets, but I like the convenience and time savings of just getting on the train, and I'm not sure I'll be able to buy them online right before I board. Now I'm worried about using the regional trains to make my connections to the intercity or freccia trains. I've heard the regional trains can be unreliable. My plans call for regional train to intercity to regional to freccia.

Trudy, I see from another post that you're staying in Vernazza? Are you trying to get there from Pisa and transferring in La Spezia to a C.T. Express train? If so, there's really no need to pre-purchase a ticket for the Express: just do whenever you arrive in La Spezia. It's only going to cost you 4 euro from L.S. to Vernazza (takes about 18 minutes).

Buy the ticket and validate it before boarding the train: easypeasy.

Thanks, Kathy. Yes, I am going from Florence to Pisa to La Spezia to Vernazza.

On the return, I'm going from Vernazza to La Spezia, La Spezia to Pisa (possibly on intercity), regional to Florence, and Freccia to Venice