Saving Money on Italian Trains: the "Regionale" Train

1. The local train stops at some very interesting places such as Orvieto, Chiusi, Castiglione del Lago (Lake Trasimeno), Camucia (Cortona) and Arezzo. You can get off the train and reboard a later local train, as long as you complete your trip within 6 hours of first boarding (the time stamp on the ticket when punching the ticket in the little yellow machine). By contrast, you CANNOT break a journey when travelling on an ES train. (Breaking the journey at Orvieto or Arezzo is particularly appealing). Of course, if you have luggage, you'll encounter a problem, as virtually no stopover station has luggage facilities (except Orvieto - a private luggage hold service near the station).

2. The local train transports mostly commuters, so you gain a better "feel" for the locals than on the ES train, which transports many tourists and occasional travellers. Some English-speaking travellers have expressed a preference for the local train for this reason.

3. You don't have to worry about securing seats in advance on the local train: just buy the ticket any time up to 60 days in advance of your planned travel date, punch the ticket in the little yellow machine before boarding, and go!!!

4. You recognize the local train on the Trenitalia website by its designation "R" in the timetables between Rome and Florence. By clicking on the train number, you can see all intermediate stops.

5. There is no food or beverage service available on the local train, so remember to bring some on board.

6. First class seats on the local train are rather more comfortable than second class, wider (3 versus 4 across), and softer (cloth seat surfaces versus hard vinyl and rubber), although first class costs 53% more than second class. There are usually only one or two first class railcars per train (often placed in the middle of the convoy). On a 3.5-hour trip, first class may be sensible for some.

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1. The local train makes 17 stops between Rome and Florence!!! Most ES trains are nonstop. This is a big difference indeed, and accounts for some of the longer travel time. (The biggest difference is that the ES trains travel on a separate, high-speed line designed for their greater speed).

2. The ES train is a little quieter and smoother than the local train, and travels at a much higher speed (indeed so fast that some travellers report very slight ear discomfort).

3. Most railcars of the local train are now air conditioned. If you happen upon one without air conditioning, quickly move to another railcar if you expect hot weather!

4. If you're seated in second class on the local train and feel the hard rubber seat frame pressing uncomfortably against your thighs, change seats, as the middle of the seat may have sagged too much.

5. The second class fare on the local train between Rome and Florence is not much greater than the cost of a taxi ride in central Rome.

6. The local train stops at both Roma Tiburtina and Firenze Campo di Marte stations, whereas the ES skips both. Some travellers prefer to use Roma Tiburtina Station if connecting to or from Fiumicino Airport.

7. All trains in Italy are non-smoking, including the "R" local trains.

OPINION: Clearly, the "R" train is not for everyone. Many travellers are on very tight schedules, and would prefer to dedicate two additional hours to sightseeing than to sitting on a train. Others won't like the numerous en-route stops. Still others may want to take the fastest, quietest and most modern train wherever available. Yet, there are also travellers on tight budgets, who would be very interested in saving $30 per ticket, or more. Still others might be interested in a more "leisurely" experience of travelling on a slower commuter train.

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NOTE: There are also "R" trains between several other important pairs of cities: Milan/Turin; Milan/Verona/Venice; Bolzano/Trento/Verona/Bologna; Venice/Trieste; Venice/Bologna; Milan/Genoa; Genoa/Pisa; Pisa/Rome; Rome/Naples; Naples/Reggio di Calabria; Messina/Palermo; Messina/Siracusa, just to name a few. Look for these trains on the Trenitalia website when researching your options.

www.ferroviedellostato.it

Is there a regional train from Rome to Bologna Centrale? I paid 58 euros (base) one way and the only ones I could find were the ES and IC or EC and they priced the same. Thanks!

Excellent question.

There are no "R" trains between Rome and Bologna. There are "R" trains between Rome and Florence every 2 hours (which take nearly 4 hours), but from Florence to Bologna there are only one or two "R" trains, and they leave at ungodly hours (useful for commuting factory workers).

As a practical matter, the cheapest option between Rome and Bologna is to take one of the several direct IC trains rather than the more expensive (and more frequent) ES trains. In second class, the fare difference is about 17 Euros, and the difference in travel time is about 80 minutes.

The IC train is a good deal, all considered.

Great post, GAC. Thanks!

Thank you for posting clear train instructions and advice. I thought, maybe, you could answer this question for me, also pertaining to train travel.

We will need to get from Rome to Volterra. We understand our choices are
1) train from Rome to Cecina, then bus to Volterra. (actually 2 buses, I think).
2) train from Rome to Cecina, then another train to Saline di Volterra, then bus.
3) train from Rome to Florence, then bus (or 2) to Volterra

I looked at the schedule on Trenitalia and it seemed train choices/times are limited to Cecina, but not to Florence. We wanted to leave around 8AM or so to allow plenty of time to travel and a midday arrival in Volterra.

Any thoughts on the best way to proceed? Thanks!

Pamela: assuming you're not travelling in July or August (when the bus schedules are reduced), you have two options to get from Rome to Volterra, in each case connecting in Cecina:

OPTION 1: one connection

Rome Termini dp. 10:09 regionale train
Cecina ar. 13:27
Cecina dp. 14:57 CPT Pisa Bus Line no. 790
Volterra ar. 15:55

Fare: 15.50 plus 3.50 Euros (train/bus)
Days of operation: Monday through Friday

OPTION 2: two connections

Rome Termini dp. 10:09 regionale train
Cecina ar. 13:27
Cecina dp. 14:19 regionale train
Saline ar. 14:51
Saline dp. 14:55 CPT Pisa Bus Line no. 790
Volterra ar. 15:15

Fare: 16.35 plus 1.45 Euros (2 trains/bus)
Days of operation: Monday through Saturday

NOTE: The bus connections are at the Cecina train station or at the Saline train station.

NOTE: Schedules on Sunday are different.

NOTE: In option 2, the train fare is based on ONE ticket from Roma Termini to Saline di Volterra.

I don't recommend connecting in Florence. You would need to take two buses (two different companies, and with a connection at Colle Val d'Elsa), and the times don't work out. Also, the ES/AV train between Rome and Florence is much more expensive than the regionale train between Rome and Cecina (or Saline).

www.ferroviedellostato.it
www.cpt.pisa.it

I believe that the IC trains can get a Amica discount if purchased the day before.That saves a few dollars and the ICs are almost as good as the ES trains.