july 29
why can't i book a train ticket today for travel on october 11 ?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
The big reason is that the schedules for Fall may not posted or uploaded yet. That happens about twice a year. Another reason might be that it is only a Regionale train (I didn't look). If it is a Regionale trains those tickets can ONLY be purchased on-line seven days in advance. HOWEVER, this is important, never book a Regionale train ticket on line in advance. No reason to do so. Buy it at the station.
PS I just pulled up the schedule. Lots of trains, some as low as 12E for super economy. Are you saying you cannot buy the ticket? I went through till I had to pay.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Are you using Trenitalia's site, and are you listing the date as 11-10-2015?
Posted by
California 🦋
5210 posts
I just checked the trenitalia website & there are several trains from Rome to Lucca on October 11th.
The best price right now is 12,40€ (super-economy) leaving Rome at 06:57 & arriving in Lucca at 10:17 ( with one train change in Pisa Centrale)
There are many other time options & price of train ticket ranges from 22,40€ -- 41,30€
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32202 posts
young,
The source of your problem is most likely the fact that most (all?) trains from Rome to Lucca will have at least one change, with the first segment being via Freccia high speed and the second segment being via Regionale. Tickets for Regionale trains can't usualy be purchased more than seven days from the travel date.
You should be able to buy a ticket for the first segment online, and probably save some money. Note that tickets for the fast trains have compulsory seat reservations (provided with the ticket) and are specific to train, date and departure time, so you can ONLY use the one train specified on the ticket. If you board any other train, hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! Also note that the cheapest Super Economy tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable, so choose carefully.
For the second segment on the Regionale train, there's absolutely no reason to buy those in advance. There are no price breaks and they don't sell out. Buy the Regionale ticket a few days prior to travel at the local station, either from a Kiosk or staffed ticket office. Note that you MUST validate the ticket prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or again hefty fines!
In addition to the Trenitalia website, you can also purchase tickets at www.capitainetrain.com (same price as Trenitalia).