Train Travel

Are you asking about intercity trains or intra-city/suburban rail travel? Even in the U.S. not all systems have clear announcements -- coming home on BART recently we noted that stations were not announced as well as the Frankfurt ones had been the day before.
On the Circumvesuviana line it's best to know the station BEFORE the one you want so you can see it as the train goes through. Long distance trains are better for signage.

Yes, there are signs in each station giving the name of the station. And, on long distance trains, there are usually announcements "In a few moments we will be arriving in xxxx". These announcements will of course be in Italian.

Thanks for reply, most helpful. We will be taking train from Milan Central to Monterosso, then to Rome, to Florence, to Venice, and back to Milan and we are in our seventies. It is our first trip to Italy. Trip is gift from our daughter. (She should be going with us)

It's also helpful to know your planned arrival time. Coming into Monterosso is the smallest station on your list, not the end of a line, and not a very long stop, so it can especially help to know what will be the previous stop that train makes. Schedule web sites can usually tell you all the stops of the train you have selected. You often must open the train door yourself, once the train has stopped. See more train riding tips at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains.

I make a note of the station before my stop so I can be ready to disembark when the train stops. Large cities have more than one station, be sure you get off at the correct one. You will want Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Venezia Santa Lucia, Roma Termini and Milano Centrale in addition to Monterosso.

The train only stops until it appears that the passengers have disembarked, unless your stop is the last for that run. If you are still gathering baggage, the train will not wait.

Major stations also have a long approach to the station with more than one sign, but these can go by pretty fast. Roma Termini, Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Venezia Santa Lucia and Milano Centrale are all terminus stations, so those will be the end of the run stops.

Just because they are terminal stations does not mean they are the end of the run. The train can continue from these stations (going in the opposite direction) and then take a different route out if the station to get to their final destination. It could still be a 10 minute or less stop at these stations.