Travelling by Train in Italy

Finding Your Train

In every station in Italy there are posters (printed on yellow paper) of the usual schedules for Partenze (Departures) for that station. Find the time and train you are taking, and the column furthest to the right will show the platform (binario) that that train USUALLY departs from. 99% of the time it will in fact use that platform, unless some other train being late throws things off.

That's why you need to also keep an eye on the electronic departures board, usually large and centrally located (shown is a departures board at Milan's Central Station). Most of the time, if there is a change of track, it will be to a track near the usual one, so if you position yourself near the usual track but where you can still see the board, you'll be in plenty of time to move to the new track.

In larger stations, there is also a rolling display and/or a TV screen at the head of the track which will update as soon as new info for that track is posted.

And don't be afraid to ask - even the Italians are left wondering sometimes, so you won't look any stupider than anybody else.

If you are going to the station to meet somebody, look for the analogous Arrivi (Arrivals) poster, printed on white paper. There is also an electronic Arrivals board updated in real-time. Both arrivals and departures are usually announced via loudspeaker as well, but these can be hard to understand in the bustle of a busy station.

Don't Forget to Stamp Your Ticket!

No matter what kind of ticket you have, you must stamp it before getting on the train. Look for a little yellow machine like this one, positioned at the head of or alongside the track, as you enter the station, and usually in any underpass tunnels in the station.

If you forget to stamp the ticket or can't find a machine that works (this happens), as soon as you get on the train, look for the conductor (at the beginning of the journey, they're usually in the first car) and explain the situation; he will hand stamp it for you.

Strangers on a Train

Feb 22, 2004

A question that often arises in the travel forums is: "What's it like to travel in Italy with small kids?"

Speaking from my own experience, it's great. Italians love kids, and, when you enter a train compartment with a child in Italy, you don't get the suffering looks that you get when boarding a plane with one in the US. Everyone's ready to ooh and aah and spoil your child rotten. Well, almost everyone.

When Rossella was three or so, we had occasion to go to Rome by train. We ended up in a compartment with four middle-aged ladies. Three of them were travelling together, and were happy to spend the entire five-hour trip entertaining Ross, who laughed and was charming and sat on their laps.

The fourth lady was travelling alone, and seemed to be allergic to children. She would draw away whenever Ross got near her, and throughout the trip showed clearly, by grimaces and sighs, that sharing a train compartment with a child was akin to being in the seventh circle of hell.

Ross, of course, was not oblivious to this. She tried her best to draw the lady out, with all her most adorable three-year-old wiles. Nothing worked, and Ross was disappointed - she was accustomed to wrapping adults around her little finger.

Towards the end of the trip, Ross looked the lady full in the face and said: "Tu sei brutta. E pure antipatica." - "You're ugly, and you're not nice."

I made all the polite remonstrances that the occasion demanded, but the other three ladies and I had to avoid looking at each other, so as not to burst out laughing. It was hard to fault Ross, who had spoken the truth as she saw it, with brutal three-year-old candor.