We will be taking a train from Lucerne, Switzerland to Lucca, Italy. I understand that my Swiss Travel Pass will cover the portion through Switzerland, and I will just need to buy a ticket from Chiasso to Lucca (through Milano Centrale, Florence and Pisa). I understand that we do not have to get off the train in Chiasso, but just stay in our same seats. Question: How do I purchase the Italian portion of the trip? I've been on both ItaliaRail and Trenitalia websites, and I can't find a route/ticket that matches the times on the SBB Swiss site. How do I know that I am purchasing a ticket for the same train I will already be on from Chiasso to Milano Centrale? It sounds so easy, yet it's so confusing!
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
Looks like you can buy the whole ticket ahead of time on www.trainline.eu so that's probably what I would do.
Posted by
Oregon
11 posts
Are you wanting to change trains at Pisa for some reason? The routes I'm looking at go from Florence to Lucca without passing through Pisa. Also, please let us know what day and time you're traveling so we can look at the same schedule.
Posted by
OP
197 posts
Sara, what site are you looking on? I've checked both Trenitalia and ItaliaRail and they both go through Pisa. I have not been able to find a route that does not go through Pisa. We are traveling on August 22, and our train will arrive in Florence at 12:59. Thank you for your help!
Posted by
Oregon
11 posts
Hi Faye, It took me a bit to figure out your schedule. Main reason: I would never depart at 6 a.m. We're just not early birds. So, more power to you! I hope you find the proverbial worm.
Regarding passing through Pisa, looking at the SBB Swiss site, you'll see that later in the day, there are routes with three changes (9:18 departure, for example) or even just two (12:18 departure). Also, I was looking at a random date in July before you mentioned the date you were traveling, so that makes a difference. (For example, on Trenitalia, I find direct trains from Firenze-Lucca on July 12, but they disappear the following week. Not sure why.)
To get to your question, the train from Luzern to Milano is an EC Eurocity train operated by Switzerland. That's why it's not showing up on the Italian rail schedules. You'll want to buy that ticket in Switzerland.
On Trenitalia, you'll want to search separately for the Milano-Firenze train at 10:15 (select "main solutions"), and then the Firenze-Pisa-Lucca train at 12:28. For some reason the site won't string that route together if you search all the way from Milano to Lucca, perhaps because there's a discrepancy between first and second class availability. You should be able to buy these tickets in Milan, but they're available online if you don't want to stress about it. A word of caution when piecing a route together -- always check to make sure you're coming and going from the same station as some towns have more than one.