I arrived back in Rome from the US the other day and was awaiting a train to Tivoli, my home base. As I looked at the train schedule posted at the station I knew what it meant, but that was not always the case. We give advice on taking a train, or you read somewhere that you need to take the train from “A” to “B,” and you may freak. Not a worry, here’s the easy way to get around Europe or almost anywhere via train.
There are two apps I recommend: Omio is one, formerly Go Euro, and is particularly good if you have a Eurail pass, which I also recommend. The other app is Trainline, which is similar but I like the Omio interface better. There are two steps involved in the process: FINDING and BOOKING your train (that’s where the apps come in) and getting on the RIGHT train at the station.
When booking, it’s a matter of knowing where you are leaving from, and that means the station, not just the city. Rome, and many larger towns, have several rail stations. They come in many sizes, from long distance to regional to local. Once you set up your account you log in your credit card info and you never need to talk to anyone at the station! You get a QR code e-mailed to you, you show it on the train and boom, done.
Your app will identify which STATION is best even if you don’t know, but pay attention. Getting to the wrong station after booking and paying your ticket is a bad start.
Using the app (picture) you can see that we plan to leave Rome Termini at 09:28, and arrive at Ancona, IT at 13:45 (1:45 p.m. in American speak) after a 4h17m ride. You can pretty much set your watch to it baring anything unusual. The cost: $22 USD, very reasonable.
Now, what happens when you GET to the station? How do you know what to look for?
If you look at the tote board picture the first thing you look for is the TIME of departure, since they’re all sequential. NOTE: They will be in 24 hour time, so don’t fight it; adjust. From there you look for your destination, which is USUALLY your city, but could be another further down the road. To double check, compare your train NUMBER against the one on your app. If they match, you know you have the right train. Last but not least, you need to know which PLATFORM to use. In any country you go to, learn certain basic words; “platform” is one, which in Italy they use “binario,” which does not translate well. Don’t fight this either! Case in point, the Termini station has at least 22 binario, ‘cause I have been on #22.
TEST! (see board)
If you plan to go to Venice (Venezia in Italian) on the 12:50 train, double check that you are booked on train AV8434 (check your app ticket) and you will depart on binario #1. Bear in mind that there are usually several train operators similar to our Amtrak and other trade names, like Union Pacific, CSX, etc… but they are not critical to know. You will also see a rolling screen after the arrival city which may indicate other stops on the way. Know in advance that you can get from A to B in varying amounts of time, so look for 1) anything that mentions “change”, rather than a direct line and also look for 2) the least number of stops. When you book online your charge will usually include the transferring train, but avoid it if you possibly can. Same thing with excessive stops. Smaller cities, overnight trains, or longer distances WILL involve transfers and many stops. Again, part of the process.
From Termini in Rome to where we’ve been staying can take 34 minutes direct, but an hour and a half with stops and pauses on the way.
Hope this helps you get over the fear and learn how to Travel Younger. NOTE: my personal “Norm Bour” page has more frequent updates on content and photos. #train #traintravel #railstations, #trainschedules#visittivoli
