I've always used a Eurailpass so am somewhat unfamiliar with Italian
railroad ticketing. Is a ticket between two cities good no matter what
route you use? To give an actual example - this year we went from
Verona to Pistoia, but there are three straightforward routes one can
take: 1) change at Bologna and Firenze, 2) change at Fornovo, Aulla, and
Lucca, or 3) change at Fornovo and Pisa. Will the ticket from Verona to
Pistoia show a specific routing? If so, what if I change my mind? For
example, this year we were going to use the Aulla to Lucca route, but
decided to stay on the train and go through Pisa as this allowed time to
get lunch in the Pisa station.

With a rail pass it makes no difference what routing you use, but would
we have to pay a penalty because we changed routes if using individual
tickets?
--
wf.

    > I've always used a Eurailpass so am somewhat unfamiliar with Italian
    > railroad ticketing. Is a ticket between two cities good no matter what
    > route you use? To give an actual example - this year we went from
    > Verona to Pistoia, but there are three straightforward routes one can
    > take: 1) change at Bologna and Firenze, 2) change at Fornovo, Aulla, and
    > Lucca, or 3) change at Fornovo and Pisa. Will the ticket from Verona to
    > Pistoia show a specific routing? If so, what if I change my mind? For
    > example, this year we were going to use the Aulla to Lucca route, but
    > decided to stay on the train and go through Pisa as this allowed time to
    > get lunch in the Pisa station.
    > With a rail pass it makes no difference what routing you use, but would
    > we have to pay a penalty because we changed routes if using individual
    > tickets?

Depends on the ticket. eg, to travel from Orbetelo to Florence, you can go
via Pisa(changing) or Siena, Via Pisa costs a few quid more and via Siena
tickets are not allowed. Also bear in mind that once your ticket is stamped,
it is only valid for 24hrs so a 'stopover' of more than a few hours is not
really an option. The best thing you can do is ask at the station. Also
don't bother getting lunch at Pisa station. All there is, is a cart outside
selling stale Parma Ham sandwichs. Take the 15min walk into town instead.

On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 14:29:24 -0700, randee <[email protected]> wrote:

    >I've always used a Eurailpass so am somewhat unfamiliar with Italian
    >railroad ticketing. Is a ticket between two cities good no matter what
    >route you use? To give an actual example - this year we went from
    >Verona to Pistoia, but there are three straightforward routes one can
    >take: 1) change at Bologna and Firenze, 2) change at Fornovo, Aulla, and
    >Lucca, or 3) change at Fornovo and Pisa. Will the ticket from Verona to
    >Pistoia show a specific routing?

If by different routing you mean only that you change trains at
different places, then there is no problem. The cost of the ticket
will be the same on trains of the same type. If you mean that the
actual route will be different, then, yes, the ticket will show the
route you plan to take. (Most tickets say, for example, "Senigallia to
Milan via Bologna".) If you take a different route that is actually
longer, it should cost more and if your ticket is examined en route,
you may have to pay the additional cost. I don't think a penalty will
be imposed, but I'm not sure.

Bear in mind that Eurostar trains have reserved seats and are only
sold for specific tracts, with no changing of trains of all.

    > If so, what if I change my mind? For
    >example, this year we were going to use the Aulla to Lucca route, but
    >decided to stay on the train and go through Pisa as this allowed time to
    >get lunch in the Pisa station.

I don't have a map of the railroad line in front of me, but I believe
that this is indeed a longer journey than the one you would have paid
for had you bought a direct ticket. You can always specify when you
buy a ticket that you want to take a specific route. However, if you
mean that you want to change your mind en route, then I think you just
have to accept that you may end up having to pay more.

-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (freeda) wrote:

    >
    > Also
    > don't bother getting lunch at Pisa station. All there is, is a cart
    > outside
    > selling stale Parma Ham sandwichs. Take the 15min walk into town
    > instead.

ISTR that as you leave Pisa station you see the Jolly hotel in front of
you, and just to the right of that hotel there's an okay cafe. Nothing
special, but probably better than the station offers and closer than the
city centre if you're really pushed for time.

randee <[email protected]> wrote:

    > I've always used a Eurailpass so am somewhat unfamiliar with Italian
    > railroad ticketing. Is a ticket between two cities good no matter what
    > route you use?

No, every ticket has a routing. Sometimes two different routings are
allowed on the same ticket (for example, Firenze to Viareggio: you pay
the longer Pisa routing but you can travel also on the shorter Lucca
routing); but generally you are allowed only the routing written on the
ticket. If you change your mind, you go back to the ticket office and
change your ticket.

--
Luca Logi - Firenze - Italy e-mail: [email protected]

    >>>>Also bear in mind that once your ticket is stamped, it is only valid for
24hrs so a 'stopover' of more than a few hours is not really an option.

I think that the number of hours a ticket is valid will also depend on the
route. I've had shorter tickets that are only valid for 6 hours in
Italy--it will say on the ticket.

We only had a half hour between trains. There were a McDonalds and some
sort of fairly large sandwich shop inside the station, both well
patronized by locals (or at least by young people speaking Italian...).
This is the sort of situation where McD's can come in handy. After
getting a sandwich we had about enough time to photograph the station
before heading off to Pistoia to see the engines.

freeda wrote:
    >. Also
    > don't bother getting lunch at Pisa station. All there is, is a cart outside
    > selling stale Parma Ham sandwichs. Take the 15min walk into town instead.

--
wf.
Wayne Flowers
Randee Greenwald
[email protected]

On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 14:29:24 -0700, randee <[email protected]> wrote:

    >I've always used a Eurailpass so am somewhat unfamiliar with Italian
    >railroad ticketing. Is a ticket between two cities good no matter what
    >route you use? To give an actual example - this year we went from
    >Verona to Pistoia, but there are three straightforward routes one can
    >take: 1) change at Bologna and Firenze, 2) change at Fornovo, Aulla, and
    >Lucca, or 3) change at Fornovo and Pisa. Will the ticket from Verona to
    >Pistoia show a specific routing? If so, what if I change my mind? For
    >example, this year we were going to use the Aulla to Lucca route, but
    >decided to stay on the train and go through Pisa as this allowed time to
    >get lunch in the Pisa station.

Did you go to that pizza place next door? It was pretty nice.

Heh, no, McDonalds, we only had a half hour between trains.

st wrote:
    >

    > >decided to stay on the train and go through Pisa as this allowed time to
    > >get lunch in the Pisa station.
    >
    > Did you go to that pizza place next door? It was pretty nice.

--
wf.
Wayne Flowers
Randee Greenwald
[email protected]