I'm traveling to Napoli in a few weeks. I'm taking Alitalia from New York to Rome, and I'd like to take the Frecciarossa to my destination. I'm wondering what would happen if the plane was late, and I had to take a later train. Could I use the ticket I had bought. I'm probably going to travel first-class. Does anyone know?
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32404 posts
vanapolipat,
One important point to note with tickets for the Freccia trains, is that they have compulsory reservations that are specific to a particular date, train and departure time. If you miss the train specified on your ticket (which will likely be listed as "ES 9513" or similar), DO NOT board another train as you'll likely be fined on the spot, and the fines are NOT cheap (about €60 PP). You could visit the ticket office (usually long queues at Roma Termini) and plead your case, but you may have to buy another ticket at Base Fare (full price). This is why it's not generally recommended to pre-purchase rail tickets involving flight connections. Of course, if your flight arrives early or on-time, you should have no problems.
If you'll be taking the Leonardo Express from FCO to Roma Termini, you can buy a ticket at the airport either from the Kiosks or a the staffed ticket office. DO NOT forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the L.E. or again, you could be FINED on the spot. That's a Regionale train, and tickets for those always have to be validated in the trackside machines prior to boarding the train on the day of travel (they have a "shelf life" once validated).
Happy travels!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16238 posts
I wouldn't pre-purchase if I traveled the morning of my flight arrival. Certainly I wouldn't prepurchase a discounted fare, because those cannot be exchanged and if your flight is late you lose your money.
I would buy on the spot upon arrival at the Rome-Fiumicino Airport station and pay the full fare. It's not that expensive to Naples.
If you absolutely want to pre-purchase a discounted ticket online, make sure you book a train that gives you plenty of time in case of flight delay.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
This is one specific area where we advise travelers not to lock in on a discounted ticket timed with a departure that is within a couple of hours of the flight arrival. If you have a Super Economy ticket and your train departs and you are not on it, your ticket is toast. For the regular economy ticket, you can make one exchange prior to departure along with paying a fee. However, if you are on a plane, this will be difficult to do. A regular base fare ticket can be exchanged. You will have to go to the ticket office to accomplish this exchange. It's best to just show up at the train station in front of Terminal #3 when you are ready to board a train and buy your tickets through to Napoli Centrale at that time.