We have bought all of our train tickets from Rick Steves' site for point to point travel in Italy. I have read that you must validate your ticket before boarding. How does this work with an eticket? Thank you for your assistance.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34355 posts
If it is a Regionale (all stops) train, designated by R, or Regionale Veloce (same but fewer stops), designated by RV, open tickets do indeed need validating.
If you have tickets issued now for R or RV, and they are from Rail Europe (the company Rick Steves contracts with to provide tickets) they will be only valid on a specific day on a particular route and valid for a shorter time than if you bought them in person. They will not need validating because they are pre-validated.
If the tickets are for anything higher - IC, EC, or ES(Freccia) - they are not only for specific trains but also for a specific carriage (carozza) and seat (posta) and that is the train and seat you must be in. They do not need validating because they can't be used on any other train.
The reason normal R and RV tickets need validating is that they are good for months before use and six hours after validation so, theoretically, if you didn't validate them you could ride up and down the line for months for the price of one day's tickets.
By the way, I have always printed out my tickets in Italy in case my phone didn't work at the exact moment that the Capotreno came to check them, and it is easier to show the people sitting in my seats "accidentally" that they are in the wrong place. (Don't worry about the assigned seating in R or RV, there is none).
Does that help?
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
If it fits in the machine, might need to be validated. If it doesn't, like an e-ticket, you don't need to do anything but get on the train in the correct carriage and find your seat number.
Posted by
OP
spain
26 posts
Thank you so much. This information answers my question. I really appreciate the Forum and all the readers who participate.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23671 posts
Any ticket purchased on-line does NOT need to be validated. The Regionale tickets purchased on-line comes prevalidated with a couple of narrow restrictions. It is generally recommended that you NEVER buy Regionale tickets on line unless it is within a total package of tickets. Absolutely no advantage to do so.
Posted by
OP
spain
26 posts
Thanks, Frank, for your reply. I appreciate the information and it prevents worry about whether to validate, ask at the station, etc. when we get to Italy.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Paper tickets that need to be validated will have the word "Convalidare" on them (I just checked a used regionale ticket bought from a machine).