Train travel

Are you traveling with large bags?

We've taken lots of trains in Italy, and never had a problem with finding space for our bags on the second class train cars. But we travel with carry-on and small backpack. There are overhead racks, and usually places for luggage storage at the end of the car.

The website www.seat61.com has all the information you'll need about booking tickets for train travel.

Thank you for your response.
We're going to be traveling with a couple of heavy fairly large bags that are too heavy for us to put overhead so we were hoping for a space on the train where we don't need to do that.

Unfortunately some of the answer is "it depends" but most modern, fast train cars that run between big cities overhead racks only has room for small backpacks, purses and maybe something small enough for under an airline seat style bags. Larger bags can fit between the "back to back" seats or in the dedicated luggage areas by the doors as you come in.

Some of this is explained here by "The man in seat 61" which is an excellent resource for train knowledge:
https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/frecciarossa.htm
and
https://www.seat61.com/luggage-on-european-trains.htm

Hope that helps,
=Tod

If we were traveling Rome to Florence I would book 1st class on a Frecciarossa 1000, the high speed train, and be ready to get on as soon as the train stops. Grab the luggage storage near the door to your assigned train car for the big bags.

Generally higher classes will have several empty seats. You are not allowed to place luggage on empty seats but there will be more room in the overhead racks and in the luggage holds at each end of the train car. If you buy tickets sufficiently in advance even a first class may not be prohibitively expensive at a discounted fare. Just be aware that discounted fares come with restrictions as they are not refundable or changeable (in some cases they are but with penalties).

If a trip involves a train leg, I always bring with me a smaller bag than if traveling by air.

When you travel by air you take care of your bag only for the very short distances between the taxi stands and the check-in and baggage retrieval areas. If you add up all the distance the bag was on its wheels and you hade to take care of it, it may add to less than 200 or 300 feet in total from home to hotel room.

But if you go by train, the distance from the station door to the train platform is much longer, often not even flat, then you have to lift the bag three steps accessing the train and three steps leaving on arrival. You have to take care of the bag all the time, while at the airport you just deposit it at the check-in and then the airline takes care. Traveling by train with a large and heavy bag is a slow form of self-harm.

I would add to the caution of bringing large luggage. We have been in some stations where we needed to negotiate stairwells with our luggage so factor that into your decision. If you would have trouble getting the luggage into an overhead then how will you get the luggage up a stairwell.