Italy Rail Pass - Italy Rail PassesItaly Rail Pass - Italian Rail PassesDiscover historic monuments, remote countrysides, and street side cafes with an itinerary that covers these vibrant cities: Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Sicily, Naples and many more! The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of Italy, with a total length of 24,227 km (15,054 mi) of which active lines are 16,723 km. The network has recently grown with the construction of the new high-speed rail network. Italy or Italia is officially the Italian Republic or Republic of Italy. Repubblica Italiana is a country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and several islands surrounding it, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, in Southern Europe. Italy is also considered part of Western Europe. A unitary parliamentary republic with Rome as its capital and largest city, the country covers a total area of 301,230 km2 (116,310 sq mi) and shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, as well as the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione. With over 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the third-most populous member state of the European Union. Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Italy has historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures. The Italian railway system has a length of 19,394 km (12,051 mi), of which 18,071 km (11,229 mi) standard gauge and 11,322 km (7,035 mi) electrified. The active lines are 16,723 km. The network is recently growing with the construction of the new high-speed rail network. The narrow gauge tracks are: 112 km (70 mi) of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge (all electrified). 1,211 km (752 mi) of 950 mm (3 ft 1+3⁄8 in) gauge (of which 153 km (95 mi) electrified). A major part of the Italian rail network is managed and operated by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, a state owned company. Other regional agencies, mostly owned by public entities such as regional governments, operate on the Italian network. The Italian railways are subsidised by the government, receiving €8.1 billion in 2009. Travellers who often make use of the railway during their stay in Italy might use Rail Passes, such as the European eurail and Interrail or Italy's national and regional passes. These rail passes allow travellers the freedom to use regional trains during the validity period, but all high-speed and intercity trains require a 10-euro reservation fee. Regional passes, such as "Io viaggio ovunque Lombardia", offer one-day, multiple-day and monthly period of validity. There are also saver passes for adults, who travel as a group, with savings up to 20%. Foreign travellers should purchase these passes in advance, so that the passes could be delivered by post prior to the trip. When using the rail passes, the date of travel needs to be filled in before boarding the trains.
With the introduction of high-speed trains, intercity trains are limited to few services per day on mainline and regional tracks. The daytime services (Intercity IC), while not frequent and limited to one or two trains per route, are essential in providing access to cities and towns off the railway's mainline network. The main routes are Trieste to Rome (stopping at Venice, Bologna, Prato, Florence and Arezzo), Milan to Rome (stopping at Genoa, La Spezia, Pisa and Livorno / stopping at Parma, Modena, Bologna, Prato, Florence and Arezzo), Bologna to Lecce (stopping at Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Bari and Brindisi) and Rome to Reggio di Calabria (stopping at Latina and Naples). In addition, the Intercity trains provide a more economical means of long-distance rail travel within Italy. The night trains (Intercity Notte ICN) have sleeper compartments and washrooms, but no showers on board.
Most portions of these ICN services run during the night, since most services take 10 to 15 hours to complete a one-way journey, their day-time portion provide extra train connections to complement with the Intercity services. There are a total of 86 intercity trains running within Italy per day. Regional train agencies exist: their train schedules are largely connected to and shown on Trenitalia, and tickets for such train services can be purchased through Trenitalia's national network. Other regional agencies have separate ticket systems which are not mutually exchangeable with that of Trenitalia. These "regional" tickets could be purchased at local newsagents or tobacco stores instead.
In addition to these agencies, there's a great deal of other little operators, such as AMT Genova for the Genova-Casella railway. Italy Cities with Metro Systems
Italy Rail Links with Adjacent Countries Italy has 11 rail border crossings over the Alpine mountains with her neighbouring countries: six are designated as mainline tracks and two are metre-gauge tracks. The six mainline border crossings are: two with France (one for Nice and Marseille; the other for Lyon and Dijon), two with Switzerland (one for Brig, Bern and Geneva; the other for Chiasso, Lugano, Lucerne and Zürich), and two with Austria (one for Innsbruck; the other for Villach, Graz and Vienna). The two-metre-gauge track crossings are located at the border town of Tirano (enters Switzerland's Canton Graubünden/Grisons) and Domodossola (enters Switzerland's Locarno). There is a railway line connecting Italy's northeastern port of Trieste to Slovenia, but no passenger or freight services operate on this track. Consequently, there is no direct connections between Trieste and Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, despite the proximity of both cities.
The Vatican City is also linked to Italy with a railway line serving a single railway station, the Vatican City railway station. This line is used only for special occasions. San Marino used to have a narrow gauge rail connection with Italy, this was dismantled in 1944. Roma Termini railway station is the busiest train station in Italy Milano Centrale railway station is the second busiest in Italy. Italy's top ten railway stations by annual passengers
Roma Termini Railway Station Station Taxi & Station Shuttle to and from these Italian Train Stations Italy has 2,400 km (1,491 mi) of navigable waterways for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value. In the northern regions of Lombardy and Venetia, commuter ferry boats operate on Lake Garda and Lake Como to connect towns and villages at both sides of the lakes. The waterways in Venice, including the Grand Canal, serve as the vital transportation network for local residents and tourists. Frequent shuttle ferries (vaporetta) connect different points on the main island of Venice and other outlying islands of the lagoon. In addition, there are direct shuttle boats between Venice and the Venice Marco Polo Airport.
Italy's largest airline is Alitalia, which was privatised in 2008. Its main hub is Rome Fiumicino Airport. Alitalia also operates a regional subsidiary under the Alitalia CityLiner brand. An important regional airline is Air Dolomiti, owned by the German Lufthansa Group. Charter and leisure carriers include Neos, Blue Panorama Airlines and Poste Air Cargo. Major Italian cargo operators are Alitalia Cargo and Cargolux Italia. Airports in Italy Italy is the fifth in Europe by number of passengers by air transport, with about 148 million passengers or about 10% of the European total. Most of passengers in Italy are on international flights (57%). A big share of domestic flights connect the major islands (Sardinia and Sicily) to the mainland. Domestic flights between major Italian cities as Rome and Milan still play a relevant role but are declining since the opening of the Italian high-speed rail network in recent years. Italy has a total as of 130 airports in 2012, of which 99 have paved runways. Rome Fiumicino airport, the busiest in Italy. Airport Movements Passengers total
Airport Taxi & Airport Shuttle to and from these Italian Airports Airport shuttle buses, however, are highly developed and convenient for rail travellers. Most airports in Italy are not connected to the railway network, except for Rome Fiumicino Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport and Turin Caselle Airport. In Bologna, a light-rail track has been constructed and inaugurated in November 2020, connecting Bologna Airport to the main railway station, while Line 1 of Naples Metro is set to finally reach Capodichino Airport and connect it to the central station and the city center in 2024.
There are long-distance intercity buses run by local companies, but the services are infrequent during the week and usually provide a secondary link to railway services. Italy does not have a nationwide coach operator. However, in 2015, the British company Megabus (Megabus Europe) launched daily intercity bus services on several domestic routes. This makes a daily total of 12 services in each direction between Rome and Bologna.
Italy 1 Country Pass Eurail Italy Pass (Eurail is a European Rail Pass for Non Europeans) Interrail Italy Pass (Interrail is a European Rail Pass for Europeans) Interrail and Eurail have Special Passes to Allow Travel between Italy and the Greek Islands as One Holiday Greece Plus Interrail Pass - Greece Plus Pass with Free Ferry Crossings to and from Italy 'for Europeans' (Operated by the Attica Ferry Group) Interrail Attica Pass - Italy Plus Pass with Free Ferry Crossings to and from Greece 'for Europeans' (Operated by the Attica Ferry Group) Greece Plus Eurail Pass - 2 trips between Italy (Venice, Ancona, or Bari) and Greece (Patras or Igoumenitsa) 'for Non Europeans' This Eurail pass allows you to explore the beautiful islands of Greece as well as visiting Italy. Eurail Greek Islands Pass - explore the beautiful islands of Greece as well as visiting Italy 'for Non Europeans' Italy 2 Countries Pass Discover Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium by train. If you want to get a taste of 2 different cultures on a single trip, choose the Eurail Two Country Select Pass (previously called the Eurail Regional Pass). This pass lets you discover 2 bordering European countries by train and offers the best value if you want to focus your adventure on a specific part of Europe
Pick your itinerary and travel to three popular cities in Europe: Rome, Milan, Paris and Monaco or Barcelona. Italy 3 Countries Pass Travel in 3 bordering countries in Europe. Delve deeper into the culture, landscape, and everyday life of 1 region in Europe. With the Eurail Three Country Select Pass you can narrow your trip to 3 bordering countries
Eurail 4 Country Select Pass Italy 4 Countries Pass Travel in 4 bordering countries in Europe. Travel by train in 4 European countries with the Eurail Four Country Select Pass. You can pick the 4 bordering countries you'd like to visit below.
Eurail Global Rail Pass 33 Countries Pass Enjoy train travel in 33 countries with this one pass! | |||||
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