Train ticket validation question

Yes, you can, as long as all travel will be completed within the allowed time after validation (I forget if it's now 4 hours or 6 hours). Assuming I'm doing the trip from A to C all in one go, I usually validate both tickets at my starting point, so I don't have to worry about forgetting, or about doing it if I'm hurrying to make a tight connection.

Art, you only have to validate tickets for trains on which you don't have a seating reservation. If you're buying your journey all the way through - and both trains involve a seating assignment - you' ll have one ticket and it doesn't have to be validated. If one of those trains does have seating reservation but the other does not, I believe you'll you'll still only have one ticket and it doesn't have to be validated. If per chance you're given two, I still don't think you have to validate the one for the regionale leg.

If BOTH trains are regionales - and so you don't have seat assignments on either - you will still only have one ticket, and it only has to be validated when you get on the first train. What you can't do is treat it as a HOHO ticket; meaning you can't get off for hours at point B and then get on again to get to point C. There's a 4-hour time limit for completing your journey after validation.

For journeys involving strictly regionale trains, just purchase those tickets on the day of your journey; you don't need to buy them in advance. It is possible to do that, however, and regionale tickets purchased online do not need validation:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en/Purchase/Regional-online-ticket-and-passes

I usually validate multiple regionale tickets at the first train station, so I don't have to think about it again.

My understanding is that a separate ticket for a regional train must be validated, even if it is one leg of a longer journey.

I also believe that the length of validation time may vary with the estimated time of the train trip (each leg if ticketed separately). I have had tickets that were valid for four hours, six hours, perhaps even longer.

The validation machine has a coding stamp that identifies the station at which the ticket was validated.

My rule of thumb: if it fits in the machine, validate it.

Regional tickets not purchased on-line must be always validated.

Only regional tickets not purchased on-line must be validated.

Art,

Great advice here by the previous posters!

Where are you traveling to?

Here is a photo of a validating machine, usually found at the beginning of the tracks, or in tunnels leading to the tracks.

My rule of thumb: if it fits in the machine, validate it.

That's a great rule, and one we've used as well. I believe we've done all of our journeys involving combo legs on fast and regionale trains via tickets bought online so there could be a difference? They were all on one, as I recall, and on tickets too large to validate.

LOL, our first time there I was so nervous about validating that I tried like the devil to cram ANY part of a big ticket into a machine and almost destroyed the silly thing. The Italians must have been in a huge snick.

LOL, our first time there I was so nervous about validating that I tried like the devil to cram ANY part of a big ticket into a machine and almost destroyed the silly thing. The Italians must have been in a huge snick.

Kathy, your comment reminded me of something I experienced on my first trip to Italy.
We were at the train station in Florence, looking at the departure board (not electronic as they are now), looking for our train to Rome.
I kept searching the board for "Roma" (or was it "Naples"?) but couldn't find any train going to, "Roma"... I finally asked someone, and their response was so simple; "Look for Napoli, train will stop in Roma", Ha!

Art,

As the others have mentioned, the answer depends on which type of trains you're using, and also which type of tickets (locally purchased or bought online). I generally prefer to validate locally purchased tickets before boarding each train on the day of travel. It would help to have some idea of which trains you're considering?

Thanks for the helpful info...
My travel plans are: FCO-Tiburtina-Florence. So I would think the 1st train is a regional train & the 2nd a non-regional train. I will be buying the tickets upon arrival. My flight arrival time will not be in time to catch the direct train in the morning.

Art,

Thanks for the clarification. You'll be using the FM/FR-1 Regionale train from FCO to Roma Tiburtina, so you'll need to validate the ticket prior to boarding the train in the airport rail station. Note that there are two trains serving the airport, the FM/FR-1 and the Leonardo Express, so be sure to board the correct train or you'll end up at Roma Termini instead.

The second train you'll be using from Tiburtina to Florence will be a Freccia high speed version which travels at up to 300 km/h. You won't need to validate the ticket for that, as tickets for the express trains are specific to train, date and departure time and can only be used on the one train listed on the ticket. Those trains have compulsory seat reservations so you'll be assigned a coach no. (Carrozza) and seat no's. (Posti), which is where you must sit. Note that your destination station will likely be Firenze S.M. Novella (you'll need to know that when you buy tickets).

One important point to note is that with the express trains you must ensure that you board only the train listed on the ticket, as boarding the wrong train by mistake will likely result in hefty fines, which will be collected on the spot! The same fines apply for those with unvalidated tickets on a Regionale train.

You'll be using the FM/FR-1 Regionale

Ken, to avoid misunderstandings that airport train has been renamed FL1 when Trenitalia introduced its FrecciaRossa trains.

http://www.060608.it/en/trasporti/muoversi-in-citta/con-le-ferrovie-regionali/fl1-fiumicino-aeroporto-fara-sabina-orte.html

Art the 060608 site also lists all the intermediate stops before Roma Tiburtina.

dario,

Thanks for the information. I couldn't remember the exact designation of the train, but was just trying to cover all the bases.

Tiburtina to Florence could also be Italo - which would be my choice. Italo tickets don't need validating.

Italo Treno is certainly another choice on that route, although that might mean more of a wait between trains. Freccia tickets also don't need validating.

I kept searching the board for "Roma" (or was it "Naples"?) but
couldn't find any train going to, "Roma"... I finally asked someone,
and their response was so simple; "Look for Napoli, train will stop in
Roma", Ha!

LOL, Priscilla! Yep, learning to look for the stops between origin and terminus is something we had to learn too. Thankfully, that's not difficult once you KNOW, eh?

Zoe's ticket tip is really foolproof; if it doesn't fit in the stamper, you don't have to worry about it.

Actually, my tip is a little fool-ish, but you won't board without a validated regionale ticket!

My first experience with validating tickets was in Perugia in 1980, I bought the ticket (no date on it) and validated it that day so I wouldn't have to waste time the next day. Oops. I had to pay for a new ticket onboard, plus a surcharge. Fines are now much higher than just replacing the ticket.

The tip about knowing the termination point of the trip is very useful for buses, too; perhaps even more useful given that bus routes can be a lot less predictable. By the time I head off on a trip somewhere, I feel as if I generally have a decent sense of the geography, but I've found that is not adequate for selecting the right bus from a flock of them unless I am actually headed for the final destination of the bus.