Validating Train Tickets

They changed regional tickets a while ago. Now if they are bought online they are for a specific train and don't need validating. If you buy a regional train ticket at the station it must be validated because it won't be time specific. All other tickets bought won't need validation because they are train and time specific.

There are some regional tickets I believe still must be validated such as the Leonardo Express tickets to/from the airport.

Donna

Are these print-at-home tickets on an 8 1/2 by 11 paper? If so, they will have a date and time on them already. They are in effect, "pre-validated" in that they must be used within 4 hours of the time shown on the ticket. So you don't need to worry about validating them.

Tickets you buy in Italy will be on, at least for Trenitalia, IBM punchcard stock. You will see little stamping machines, brightly colored, on the platforms. You stick the ticket in and it stamps the date, time, and a code on the ticket starting the time for the 4 hour window, You will see other people doing the same thing, so it will be obvious. Buses and trams have them on board, subways when you enter the system. If a ticket inspector comes along and asks to see your ticket, you show it to him/her and they can see you, in effect, cancelled your own ticket. They do spot checks like this instead having them need to go around and check everybody's ticket.

If the tickets are not cancelled, you could reuse them, so this process is to prevent that from happening. But print-at-home tickets won't fit in the machines, so they pre-validate them when you buy them.

Tickets for IC and Freccia trains will already have a seat reservation with a car and seat number on them. They are only good for that specific train on that date. You don't need to validate these because they are only valid for that particular train and date and can never be reused.

"Are there machines by the trains that is obvious that these will stamp your tickets for validation? How do you actually validate the ticket at the station?" Yes, there are small machines that are used. Just watch others, and you'll see it's easy. If still concerned, YouTube videos are available.

Best is to validate at the machines near the ticket office (biglietteria), since location of the machines can vary. Many validating machines at Roma a Termini were removed from their location at the tracks, not sure if that was temporary or permanent.

If there is a sottopassaggio (walkway under tracks), there may be machines there.

The ONLY ticket that needs to be validated is a Regionale train ticket purchased in the station at either the ticket window or a ticket machine. All tickets purchased on-line, including Regionale trains, are restricted to a certain train, date, and time so need to validate. Regionale tickets purchased on line have a time window for usage. A beginning time and an ending time. The ticket is not validate before the start time. Generally not a good practice to purchase Regionale train tickets on-line unless it is part of a total travel package.

Regionale trains tickets purchased at tobacconists and travel agencies must be date-stamped, too.

Just in case a future reader going to Varenna finds this thread.

To add to dario's clarification, train tickets bought at tobacco shops or newsstands may be smaller in size but will fit in the validation machines.

This last time (August 8) I bought a ticket at FCO for the Leonardo Express, it was an ordinary floppy paper receipt and that was it, no separate ticket. I had to hold the square imprint at the bottom of the receipt up to the receptor on the turnstile column to open the gate. But I didn't put it in the validator box. The conductress came by and punched it with her paper puncher and put a hole in it and didn't say anything to me. So I don't know if it had to go in the validator box or not.