We are a family of 6 travelling to Germany, Italy and France this March. We purchased the 7 days of travel through Eurail during the 45% off sale. I am wondering why when we go directly to the Trenitalia site and put in our routes it is sometimes up to three hours shorter than the same route on the Eurail site. I have contacted Eurail and they tell me that our pass is valid for all Trenitalia train but could not give any real explanation for the difference other than allowances for delays?? Are we safe to follow the times on the Trenitalia site?
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
Can you give examples?
Posted by
California 🦋
5301 posts
Are we safe you follow the Trenitalia site?
Yes. Trenitalia is the Italian Railway Company, so all train schedules are accurate.
BTW, are you aware that you will need to make reservations (and pay extra fees) for travel on high speed trains in Italy and France?
Here’s a very helpful website that will give you more detailed information:
Seat61.com
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32402 posts
I'm assuming the "7 days of travel" that you bought is a Railpass?
As Priscilla mentioned, it's important to note that Railpasses do not include seat reservation fees that are compulsory on the express trains (Freccia, Intercity). If you're caught on an express train without a valid reservation for that train, you'll be subject to hefty fines which will be collected on the spot.
I don't believe you can use the Railpasses on the Italo Treno network, but you'll have to check the passes to see what they include.
The same situation exists for the fast trains in France (TGV). You must have a reservation for these or again, possible fines. The rail company in France (SNCF) limits reservations for Passholders, so once the quota is sold out for a particular train you wouldn't be able to use your Railpasses on that train even if there were still seats available. In that case, your choices would be to buy regular tickets (which include the seat reservations) or buy reservations for a different train in order to use your Railpass.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
If you tell Eurail or wherever that you're searching for a passholder reservation for the whole route, but that route includes some leg(s) by unreserved Regional train, then it may tend to "break" the results. If a reservation is what you're looking for, only request the trains that require it - IC, EC, and Frecce trains in Italy, but not Regional or Interregional. Routes such as Florence to Pisa, the towns of the Cinque Terre, Assisi, around Lake Como, and a number of other small towns are served by regional trains.
For trains beyond Italy, Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it.