Train travel questions?

1. Probably. They seem to increase a couple euro each cycle but it is never a significant increase

2. Loco2 is good as is the national rail site - trenitalia

3. If you purchase a discount ticket -- S Economy or Economy then that is yes. If you purchase a Base ticket then you have an hour at the train has left the station to exchange for a later train. All trains except Regional require a seat reservation so if you miss a train with a base ticket then you need to get another seat reservation prior to boarding the next train. The Econ ticket can be changed one time prior to train departure paying the difference.

4. You have four hours from the time you validate the ticket. So don't till just before you need to.

1) Not much. Maybe high speed trains have fewer Super Economy seats available, and they are being posted with smaller discounts to start, but Base fares have remained pretty steady.
2) loco2 is fine. They cover Italotreno tickets as well.
3) If it is a Super Economy or Economy Ticket, that is correct. If you buy a Base Ticket, it can be changed up to 1 hour after the original train departed. You always have to make a change because the ticket has a seat reservation, and you need a seat reservation for the new ticket.
4) Pretty much for Regionali tickets bought on line and are prevalidated for a certain time. But this varies by province. Regionali Tickets bought in Italy are for a specific date, but can be used on any train that day, providing you validate before boarding. That starts the 4 hour usage clock.

https://www.trenitalia.com/en/frecce/frecciarossa.html
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Good luck.

Just to follow up briefly on Sam's comment on Regional tickets. I personal do not think the Regional tickets should be purchased on-line. No advantage. They are not cheaper and they come with additional restriction. When purchasing on line you must specify a start time (boarding time) and then it is valid for only four hours. So if you decide you wanted to do the Regional train in the afternoon but specified an 8am starting time, then the ticket is no good. Buy the ticket in station after your get there.

If you miss a connection because of Trenitalia you are always protected, it doesn't matter if you purchased a full-price or a discounted ticket.

Of course Both trains must be run by Trenitalia, do not expect them to provide a new ticket for free because Italotreno was late.

Re-sellers' sites must also respect Trenitalia's minimum transfer times.

Frank, regionale tickets should be purchased online... while walking inside the station to the departure track! All train tickets can be bought up to 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

dg,

A few thoughts to add to the other replies.....

1. Prices always seem to increase a bit each year. You can check current prices on the Trenitalia website. In any case, you'll have to pay whatever the price is as it sure beats walking!
2. "Best place" is somewhat subjective. You can use Loco 2, Trainline.com or other reseller sites, or go to the rail networks - Trenitalia or Italo Treno.
3. Tickets on the express trains are specific to train, date and departure time and can only be used on the one train listed on the ticket. As Dario mentioned, if the delay was caused by the rail company, I believe you can go to a ticket office and get a replacement ticket. However, if you miss the train because you slept in or whatever, I believe you're on the hook for another ticket.
4. If using advance purchase tickets for Regionale trains, you must start the journey within four hours of the departure time listed on the ticket. If you're already on the train when the four hours expires, you can complete the journey.

Imo the only time it makes sense to pre-purchase regional train tickets is when buying them as part of a trip that involves both regional and high-speed trains operated by Trenitalia. In that case, it gives you some additional protection if a train is late. I think there are more disadvantages than advantages to pre-purchasing regional train tickets for a trip that's only on regional trains or in combination with an Italo high-speed train.

Thanks for all of the information-very helpful.

We are looking at our first train trip (Vencie to Florence) and the lowest fare is a Smart, non flexible fare with italo.
The other option is with a Standard, non flexible fare with Trenitalia for $6.00 more.

Is there a difference between the 2 train lines that is worth noting, and also the 2 tickets that they are both offering??

Thanks!

Is there a difference between the 2 train lines that is worth noting

Italo's complimentary on board wi-fi actually works, at least when the train isn't in a tunnel.

and also the 2 tickets that they are both offering??

Italo's discounted tickets usually have better T&Cs.

Dario: T&C"s?

Just make sure that both are using the same train station. Then I would go with schedule. Some say the equipment on Italo is new.

I prefer Italo seats, and I like the fact that it is part owned by the owners of Ferrari - even though I always hope that Ferrari lose races I still respect them.

On the Italo, there are both Smart and Prima seats available.

Is there any advantage to paying extra for the Prima class tickets?

Is wifi free on all seat classes?

Thanks

Terms and conditions

PedanticmodeON

Italo Is not owned by the owners of Ferrari and Trenitalia's Frecciarossa1000 trains are newer (and faster)

PedanticmodeOFF

I am coming in from Chur, Switzerland via the Bernina Express on December 26. The train arrives at Tirano RhB station at 12:49. I have to then catch a Regional train to Milan Centrale, which leaves from the Italian train station (across the street?) at 13:08. This gives me 19 minutes to make my way to other train.

Couple questions:

1. Is this enough time? Has anyone made this connection from the Bernina Express? How did it go?
2. I can purchase the regional ticket beforehand once the dates open up. The web says the e-ticket comes pre-validated. So, if I buy the 13:08 ticket and miss the train, can I use it on the next train at 15:08? I’m confused about the 4 hour usage; online (Trenitalia) the site states they are for a specific train and are non refundable. They apparently run every 2 hours.

kenimhc

It's best to start your own post. The OP (original poster) is notified when there are answers to their question, and many people only read and answer the original post.

Trenitalia has an advantage over Italo that nobody considers: their train are more frequent. If you have to change a ticket (and that is a big if, as the cheaper tickets cannot be changed) or you are delayed in a connection, the next Trenitalia train will run within an hour on principal itineraries, while a longer wait may be necessary on Italo.

On the Italo, there are both Smart and Prima seats available. Is there
any advantage to paying extra for the Prima class tickets? Is wifi
free on all seat classes?

We always travel lowest class on Italian trains and see no reason to upgrade unless a price break makes doing so negligible.

Yes, wifi is free; more info on Italo wifi (both Italo and Trenitalia websites provide lots of info in English):

https://www.italotreno.it/en/the-train/italolive-portal#wifi-italo

Some info regarding differences in each tier of carriage/ticket:
https://www.italotreno.it/en/the-train#servizi

Extra note: Italo trains travel almost exclusively to larger cities by high-speed trains. They don't have the slower regionale trains Trenitalia does which service many smaller towns.

We took a couple of FrecciaRossa trains in September, and they all looked new to me compared to two years ago.
The WiFi was great, consistent and free.
Haven't tried Italo, as I can always find cheaper fares on Trenitalia.

In August we purchased train tickets directly from the easy to use Trenitalia website. https://www.trenitalia.com. We downloaded their app also which showed the bar code for our tickets. But I also printed out the tickets just in case. I am glad I did because when we were going to board the train the app said it was "currently unavailable". Not sure what the problem was but we just scanned our paper tickets.

Since the last time we bought train tickets in Italy was in 1998 I have to assume the prices have increased. We bought 2nd class tickets and the cars were fine with us, very clean, and comfortable.