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Italy: High Speed trains and reservation

  • 11 July 2022
  • 8 replies
  • 391 views
A

Dear community,

 

I’m planning a trip in Italy in september and have already bought my pass. Now I want to make my seat reservations for some of my trips (e. g. Bari to Rimini on the 21st, starting 09:30). While the regular Interrail website and Trenitalia show the Frecciarossa train in question, I can’t make a seat reservation via the Interrail reservation site. I have also tried the ÖBB and DB booking systems, but to no avail. They only show regional trains that I wouldn’t need a reservation for. 

My first thought was that I’m looking too early, but on the Interrail website it says, that you can make reservations for Italy up to three months in advance (and in my case it’s only two).

 

Do you have any ideas?

 

Thanks in advance! ;)

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Best answer by Angelo 11 July 2022, 14:12

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8 replies

Angelo
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Trenitalia has released some days before the new timetable from September, you have to wait till this data gets to all other rail companies. The last one will get the railplanner app the new update. In the next days or weeks should be possible to book via ÖBB with the one way ticket option and adding as discount “Interrail - Eurail Global Pass” or via DB Reisezentrum. 

Do you have any questions? Feel free to ask in the community! Known languages: Deutsch, Italiano, English.
M
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Userlevel 7
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Golden rule; NEVer before 2 month onward-and often not even that term is maintained. Why all that worry about so long ahead?

Jan Jansen van Rensburg

It is frustrating to see seats being booked on TrenItalia website, yet first class Eurail pass holders unable to make seat reservations. From what I understand non European visitors with Eurail pass like us just have to wait and hope there are still any quality seats available once it is released on Eurail app planner and ÖBB.

Angelo
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@Jan Jansen van Rensburg when are you traveling in Italy? Most of the times the trains get not so full, that you don’t get no seat. Trains run often, especially on Milan-Firenze-Rome-Neapels and Rome-Firenze-Venice route. 

From what I understand non European visitors with Eurail pass like us just have to wait and hope there are still any quality seats available once it is released on Eurail app planner and ÖBB.

In Italy all seats can be used by Pass holder with a reservation for long distance trains. In French International TGV services, only a quota is for pass holder and it can be full before for pass holder. 

Do you have any questions? Feel free to ask in the community! Known languages: Deutsch, Italiano, English.
Jan Jansen van Rensburg

I am only traveling late September/ early October. Yes that may sound like a long time in the future. But allready on TrenItalia I see the Frecciarossa train I want to take from Venice to Florance first class seats are filling up. I specially bought a first class Eurail pass since I travel alone and don't care for sharing tabels and seat arrangements with strangers. I can only watch with sadness as I see the single seats wich don't share tables getting booked simce I am unable to make any seat reservations at all at this stage. Very dissapointing.

A
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Userlevel 7
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@Jan Jansen van Rensburg 

The advice from the experienced travellers is to avoid making reservations through the Eurail website. The Italian trains can best be booked through ÖBB, please read more below. 

Here is some useful information from the experienced travellers in the Community regarding both planning, reservations and activation of pass and travel days. 

 Planning

The rail planner is normally not up to date, as it only is updated once a month, so to be sure of the time table you better check the timetable and availability on the websites of the national railways. The bigger national railways, like DB (Germany) SBB (Switzerland) and ÖBB (Austria) cover several countries. 

 Reservations 

The advice from the experienced travellers in the community is to use other ways to make reservations than the Interrail/Eurail website.  You can look at the guide in the link:

https://community.eurail.com/train-connections-reservations-47/how-to-get-reservations-105

If you, after having looked at the guide, have questions about how to make specific reservation, please give your travel details (departure date, time and route) preferably in a new topic, and you will get advice.

Please note that Interrail/Eurail charges an extra fee of 2 EUR per person and train in addition to the fee for the seat reservation.

 Activation of pass

During the activation process, when you choose the start day of the validity of the pass, the first day of the validity period is automatically made a travel day, even if you don't enter a journey, the advice is therefore not to activate the pass before the first travel day as you only can deactivate the pass before 00.00 on the day the validity starts. If your travel plans change in the last moment you will loose travel days if you have activated the pass in advance.

It can be wise to make a test and activate the pass with a start date well in the future and then deactivate the pass immediately, just to see that everything works.

 Activation of travel day

The advice from the experienced travellers in the community is also never to activate a travel day, that is connect a journey to your pass, until just before boarding the train, otherwise you might loose a travel day if your travel plans change in a late stage  You can't delete a travel day in the past. A travel day can only be deleted until 23.59 CET the day before the travel day.

 

Please note that I don't work for Interrail/Eurail and that I don't reply to personal messages.
B
Userlevel 1
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Bonjour, 

Il existe peut etre une agence trenitalia dans une grande ville ou vous residez. 

Sur Paris, a la gare de Lyon il y en a un, c est comme cela que nous avons pu reserver nos places uniquement pour les trajets a l interieur de l'Italie. 

Certains sites ferroviaires sont tres bien fait, notamment le site Tcheque ou il vous demande si vous avez un pass Interrail... La sncf, trenitalia ne le propose malheureusement pas... 😉

R
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Certains sites ferroviaires sont tres bien fait, notamment le site Tcheque ou il vous demande si vous avez un pass Interrail... La sncf, trenitalia ne le propose malheureusement pas... 😉

non plus, en effet…

Both SNCF and Trenitalia removed from their websites the option to book pass holder seats.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.

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