philat98

I went to Rome yesterday with a return ticket purchased online. I returned to Termini an hour earlier than expected so just boarded the first regional train available and not the Intercity I was booked on. The ticket inspector said that I was travelling without a ticket and handed me a fine of Euro50 and I had to buy a new ticket (Euro7).
I sent a complaint to Trenitalia but don't expect to get any where. If I'd bought a normal ticket at the office I could travel on any regional train.

modicasa

Aye, theres the rub - online you buy a ticketfor a specific train - take another and you have no valid ticket.....

GeorgeYoung

I'm pretty sure that it says that the biglietto elettronico is issued with a validity "window" of 4 hours from the time of the train you select. After that time, you have to change the ticket for it still to be valid.

Just checked an old ticket and I'm right:
"Il biglietto regionale acquistato online è gi� convalidato con la data e ora di partenza del treno prescelto all'atto dell'acquisto e riportate sul biglietto. Consente di viaggiare dall'ora di partenza riportata sul biglietto e nelle 4 ore successive."

That's from a regionale ticket, perhaps this doesn't apply to the terms for InterCity tickets?

ononno

' nelle 4 ore successive' so you can turn up late, but not early.

GeorgeYoung

Just noticed that part of Phil's original post. You can't change it on the day of travel either, apparently.

modicasa

For a regionale yes, but he had booked an intercity.

Geordieborn

I thought about this post a couple of times because it reminded me of something I’ve started to do recently. When I come across minor irritations here in Italy I start to think of my fictitious counterpart in the UK and wonder how they would get on. So in this case I can see them with an “advance” or “off-peak” ticket “not valid via London”, I’m sure you get the picture. Hence the importance of forums like this to educate us!

britaly00

TripA is full of posts like this, often under the heading 'scam'.

philat98

I am sure you are right. The ticket collector looked very uncertain when he was giving the fine. I should have refused to pay and got out the train at Tiburtina.

britaly00

Caveat emptor, as they say. Frustration with with system doesn't mean it's a scam. Illogical at times, maybe.
I remember Tim Parks mentioning in his book of travels around Italy by train showing an inspector his PDF ticket on his iPad and the guy refusing to accept its validity.

Lorna at Vicenza

I went to Florence with a home printed ticket four years ago and the fairly new system of mobile phone tickets as well. I only had both because I'm now very cynical and I don't trust new systems here until they have been tried and tested and know that they work and are nationally accepted. Mr Train Ticket Man was quite happy with the mobile phone version.

Just yesterday my daughter and friends were returning from Milan with pre-booked Trenitalia tickets ............. except one of the trains was late so they jumped on another one. Mr Ticket Train Man did say something to them about them being on the wrong train but he luckily didn't kick them off. It might be one of those "Jobsworth" things when you either get a nice Ticket Man or a complete arsehole.