So, we have purchased 2nd class reserved seats for 5 different trains during our first trip to Europe. Will our tickets have the exact seat number printed on our rail tickets? Rick Steve's book states the train platforms are marked where 1st and 2nd class cars will be located upon arrival. So if we wait in the 2nd class area, do we just sit in "any" seat in 2nd class, or do we look for a specific seat that we have reserved?
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
805 posts
You sit in the specific car and seat you have booked. Its like traveling on a plane, you have booked a specific seat and you must sit there, especially since the trains you are on probably are 100% reserved seating.
Posted by
OP
Redding, USA
6 posts
Thank you very much!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Maybe yes. Maybe no. If you have truly reserved trains that require seat reservations, your tickets will have the train number, departure time and seat number. No problem. Often times, however, other passengers may be in your seats. Just show your ticket and they will move. It's really hard to travel around Italy without having to take a Reginale-type train here and there. If you get a ticket with no train number, departure time or seat reservation on it, you most likely will be on a Regionale-type train. No reservations permitted. Also, the ticket is good for 60 days until you validate it at the little yellow box in the train station. Then, its good for only 6 hours.
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
Congrats Barabara on your first trip. You'll enjoy European train travel. After 5 trips, you'll be a veteran! While you are guarenteed a seat on a faster, reserved seating train (stamped on your ticket), on a slower regionale train... you might be standing... as it's first come, first "seated!" It sounds like you have all your tickets pre-purchased so odds are you are on the faster trains with reserved seating - as pre-purchasing a regionale train ticket is limited to 7 days in advance online. You might read this post on Riding Trains in Italy and if you're heading into Rome, this one on the main train station there: Arriving at Roma Termini Station. They both have lots of pictures and some videos that may assist you. Good Luck on your trip!
Posted by
La Crescenta, California, USA
361 posts
Let me muddy the water, we travel by train in Italy all the time and here is what happens to us: 1. Buy 1st class tickets, 1st class seating is all filled up and it is too difficult to ask everyone to show their seat assignment. Train is so full even in 2nd class that we end up sitting between cars on boxes. 2. A few days later purchase 2nd class tickets, 2nd class is filled conductor has us sit in 1st class.
3. A few more days later we buy assigned/reserved seats but see some people we want to chat with in another area, sit with them----no problem. We love train travel in Italy it is ALWAYS an adventure.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32327 posts
I agree with the comments made by Jerry in the previous reply. Train travel in Italy is often not "predictable", and doesn't necessarily follow the same conventions as other countries in Europe. I can't recall ever seeing a printed chart in Italy showing the "make-up" of the various cars in each train. You could (for example) arrive at your reserved seat and find someone already sitting there. When you compare tickets, both will show a valid reservation for the same seat. Since the other passenger was there first, you may end up standing or "sitting on boxes". Cheers!