Italian trains: Intercity

• Q. What information do I need to provide when booking a rail pass? Do the names on the rail pass and the passports have to match?

  A. When you book your rail pass, you will need to provide us with your first and last name, exactly as they appear on your passport. The name you enter will appear on your rail pass and will be verified by a railway official when you activate the rail pass. In addition, some rail passes are pre-activated and require you to enter the first date of travel.

• Q. Can I book group fares online?

  A. Due to the nature of group inventory, group fares are not available online. To receive a quote from one of our dedicated group consultants, please fill out the quick and easy Group Quote form and an agent from our group department will contact you within 48-72 hours.

• Q. My group lives large. Can we book an exclusive carriage or charter an entire train?

  A. Whether your group is looking to book an exclusive carriage on a scheduled train for their sole use, or wishing to charter an entire train, we can arrange it. Simply fill out a Group Quote form and one of our dedicated group consultants will respond with a quote to fit your groups’ needs.

• Q. Can I choose whether my tickets or rail passes are delivered as paper documents or electronically?

  A. All available delivery options for how your train tickets, rail passes, and/or reservations can be issued will be presented to you during checkout.

• Q. Can I purchase a rail pass when I'm in Europe?

  A. In general, rail passes can only be purchased prior to your arrival in Europe and cannot be purchased locally. If you’re already in Europe and would like to purchase a rail pass, we may be able to assist you, please call us at 1-800-622-8600.

  With international shipping, we can send your rail pass to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland. The fee for orders sent to Europe is $40 USD or $45 CAD and delivery takes 3 to 7 Business days.

• Q. How long are train tickets valid for?

  A. It depends if you have a ticket with a reservation or a point to point train ticket.

  Point to point train tickets are valid within 15 days from the first day of validity printed on the ticket. You can travel with your train ticket on any date within the validity period (however, remember: separate reservations may be necessary, depending on the route).

  Tickets with reservations are only valid for the train for which the reservation was issued, on that specific travel date and time of travel.

• Q. Can a rail pass be issued as an e ticket or e pass?

  A. At this time, most rail passes are printed as a paper document and must be shipped to you prior to your departure to Europe. If a rail pass is offered as an e-pass this option will be offered at the time of booking. For rail passes offered as e-passes, you will need to print it out on paper prior to arriving at the train station.

• Q. I have my train ticket. Do I also need to buy a reservation?

  A. Rail Europe train tickets usually include a reservation whenever possible. In other words, if you’re taking a train that requires a reservation, one will already be included with your train ticket from us. If you’re boarding a train that offers reservations but doesn’t require them, tickets sold on our website will include one, if available, at the time of booking.

  For certain trains that offer reservations but don’t require them, it is possible that we do not include a seat reservation with your train ticket. This may happen when we don’t have access to those reservations, which can only be purchased locally. Rest assured that even if this is the case, your Rail Europe train ticket will still allow you to board and sit at any unoccupied seat.

• Q. I just placed a booking and realized I made a mistake. How can I make changes?

  A. If you need to get in touch with us regarding your booking, please visit our Contact Us page for assistance. As long as it hasn’t been invoiced yet, it’s usually not a problem to fix it. However, please note that an exchange fee and price change may be applicable depending on what needs to be changed.

• Q. When I board the train, can I sit anywhere I want?

  A. If you booked a reservation for a specific train, you’ll have a designated car and seat number. This information will be located on your ticket.

  If you don’t have a reservation and the train you’re traveling on either doesn’t accept reservations or reservations are not mandatory, then you’ll be able to get on board and look for an available seat in the class of service you booked. Keep in mind that during the train journey, if another traveller gets on board and has reserved the seat you’re occupying, you will need to move.

  Keep in mind that local commuter trains generally do not accept reservations. During peak hours (typically before 9am and in the evening between 5-7pm) the trains are used by locals going to work and tend to be a bit more crowded. This may make it more difficult to find an available seat.

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