I have bought my train tickets for both our Florence to Venice and Venice to Bologna and Bologna to Rome and they are on my phone. I dont do train travel in Canada because it is ridiculously expensive so a bit unfamiliar with procedure. Do we just hit the station, grab our platform and get on the train? Or do we need to validate prior to boarding?
Thank you in advance
HI there,
Fellow Canadian here.
You should be able to go directly to your train at Florence and Venice once your platform is displayed. Your ticket will tell you what car and seat. There may be someone checking tickets as you board the train. Otherwise, they'll come around once the train has started moving. Just open the tickets in your app or open the pdf on your phone and you can display as needed.
I'm always overly-cautious and save images of the tickets/QR codes to my photo or notes app.
I think the only time you should need to validate a ticket is if you're on a regional train with a paper ticket.
Have an excellent trip!
Thank you so much!!!
Note that at the larger stations in Italy they now have ticket barriers. Depending on the station these will be automatic, or just a manned checkpoint. You can show your ticket there. If the automatic barriers challenge you just look for a manned entrance.
Remember that trains are mass transit. This is more like taking the Got Transit than taking VIA Rail....
Screenshot your tickets and save them in your phone’s photo gallery.
Just in case you can’t get service to open the app.
The on board inspector will scan your tickets, not right away , but during the journey.
Have a look at Seat61 website to get lots of great current info on using Italian trains.
All stations have great places to buy sandwiches, snacks etc before you board, to take with you.
Keep your personal bag with your pp, cards, money, documents etc on you at all times.
Do NOT put it in the overhead rack!
Suitcase go in the racks at the end of each carriage, or if small, in the rack above, or between the “vee” shape between seats.
Good idea to check on them now and then, especially if your train has stops before yours.
The number of your carriage will be on the doors.
Travel light….some trains still have a few high steps to get into the carriages.
Have fun!
Trenitalia has an app that will store the tickets, check track details and also let you track any trains for connections if you have them. I have heard that for some weird reason it is not available in Canada so you might have to wait until you're local to download it but I recommend it.
If you have the tickets in the app and you click "check in" for fast trains after you're sitting in your seats and then train is moving they usually won't even ask for your ticket since the conductor can see you got on the correct station, are in your seat, and have checked in. Then you won't even need to show them to the conductor. But ditto on being paranoid and making a screenshot of the tickets just in case. I've never needed it but you never know when you might not have cell data when when you need it.
In Bologna the fast trains leave from Level -4 and take an airport type transfer via a series of escalators to get to. So arrive early when you leave and don't hang around. If it's a fast train you know it leaves from the lower levels so you can head down even if you don't have a track assigned yet. All other stations are laid you flat and are more straightforward to use even if super busy.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
