Italian regional trains

[Steveca]

Travelling with the wider family btn Pisa, Florence and Siena.
We have printed paper tickets and FIP coupons.
Do they need to be validated before journeying?
Some have suggested they're pre- validated.

 

[Merseysider]

From what I recall using paper tickets last time I was there... if the ticket has no train time / number printed on it then validate it. If it has a timed departure shown it's valid for that train already and no validation necessary.

 

[dutchflyer]

Regional tickets are quite cheap and have very restricted use. Traditionally all were sold from machines or tabacchchi etc.-as undated paper tickets (also for about all urban transport) and thus these should be stamped with date+time in the (most often yellow) validators at platform-entry. Fares (for same nr of KMs) differ a lot between regione now.
Often due to this tickets cannot even in these modern times be bought online in some regions. But IF yes, they should always be with date+time-and thus be pretty worthless if you cannot use them due to whatever reason. There is generally also not any financial advantage.
TrenItalia also offers 3 or 5 days unlimited use passes for all its regional treni, cost around 10€/day.
FIP is for rail-staff and traditionally you will hence always get a very warm welcome from colleagues-but these should be dated, as you most likely will know.

 

[The exile]

TrenItalia also offers 3 or 5 days unlimited use passes for all its regional treni, cost around 10€/day.

Where can I find details of this? Never seen it referenced-or have I been looking in the wrong place?

 

[rvdborgt]

Where can I find details of this? Never seen it referenced-or have I been looking in the wrong place?

On the Trenitalia website:

Italia in tour

www.trenitalia.com

 

[The exile]

On the Trenitalia website:

Italia in tour

www.trenitalia.com

Thank you!

Further to this - are there proper (ie tabular, rather than “journey planner” )timetables for Italy to be found anywhere? The Trenord area has them online but I can’t find them for the rest of the country .

 

[30907]

Further to this - are there proper (ie tabular, rather than “journey planner” )timetables for Italy to be found anywhere? The Trenord area has them online but I can’t find them for the rest of the country .

https://www.trenitalia.com/it/informazioni/orari_regionali_digitali.html
is a start, probably NOT including non-TI routes/services.
I found it via this incredibly useful list.
https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?030,7218041
Note - read the tables carefully as overtaken services appear only once as I discovered today.

 

[D6130]

Trenitalia regional tickets purchased in advance on-line are predated and can only be used on the train and date specified....therfore they don't need to be validated. Those purchased from booking offices, tobacconists' kiosks, bookstalls or ticket vending machines are valid on any Regionale or Regionale Veloce trains on the route concerned and date of issue and must be validated before travel using one of the - usually green and grey - validators found on station concourses and platforms. Once validated, the ticket is valid for four hours from the time of validation, including any breaks of journey. You should check the time actually stamped on the ticket as some of the validators are not very good at keeping the correct time! Different rules apply to 'private' operators and break of journey is usually not permitted.

FIP is for rail-staff and traditionally you will hence always get a very warm welcome from colleagues-but these should be dated, as you most likely will know.

This is correct but, occasionally in Italy - as in other countries - you may come across a fairly new 'capotreno' who isn't aware that each box on an FIP pass is valid for two days....so keep the explanatory letter supplied with passes with you when travelling.

 

[rvdborgt]

This is correct but, occasionally in Italy - as in other countries - you may come across a fairly new 'capotreno' who isn't aware that each box on an FIP pass is valid for two days....so keep the explanatory letter supplied with passes with you when travelling.

IIRC there is still a sentence in a language of the country on the coupon specifying this. A friend of mine usually highlights this sentence because on branch lines they don't often see these coupons and some ticket inspectors then even try to fill out a new box themselves. Same for ticket office staff :/

 

[boiledbeans2]

This is correct but, occasionally in Italy - as in other countries - you may come across a fairly new 'capotreno' who isn't aware that each box on an FIP pass is valid for two days....so keep the explanatory letter supplied with passes with you when travelling.

Once, I had a ticket inspection before boarding a regional train from Torino Porta Nuova to Milano Centrale (the RV train which takes 2hrs, not the AV train).

The ticket clearly stated the train time and was valid only on the train I was about to board (I bought the ticket from the ticket machine a few minutes earlier). Yet the ticket inspector asked me to validate the ticket. I complied as I didn't want to argue.

So the story above was about a ticket inspector on the platform before boarding the train.

Once onboard the RV train, if the guard or onboard ticket inspector comes around checking tickets, the ticket inspector never looks at the validation anyway. They just scan the QR code on the ticket with their device.

 

[AdamWW]

Once, I had a ticket inspection before boarding a regional train from Torino Porta Nuova to Milano Centrale (the RV train which takes 2hrs, not the AV train).

The ticket clearly stated the train time and was valid only on the train I was about to board (I bought the ticket from the ticket machine a few minutes earlier). Yet the ticket inspector asked me to validate the ticket. I complied as I didn't want to argue.

So the story above was about a ticket inspector on the platform before boarding the train.

Once onboard the RV train, if the guard or onboard ticket inspector comes around checking tickets, the ticket inspector never looks at the validation anyway. They just scan the QR code on the ticket with their device.

I recently jumped on a regional train in Italy without validating my ticket - it was my first regional train journey of the trip, I was in a rush to catch the train and I was confused by the fact that the machine insisted I selected a train and warned me that I only had a minute to catch it.

Then on the train I looked at the ticket and saw that it needed validating.

I found the guard before they found me, who tried very hard to scan the code with their tablet but despite trying various angles it didn't work...so they just wrote something on the back...

 

[duesselmartin]

Usually staff are very helpfull if they feel its a genuine error of a tourist.
As to regional passes. I just done the Altar Egide region on a 7 day pass incl free entry into museums for €37.
Those passes are definitly worth looking in to. Best to ask the local tourist office or even the hotel reception.

 

[AdamWW]

Usually staff are very helpfull if they feel its a genuine error of a tourist.

That's good.

Normally it seems to be the other way round...