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Taking bicycle on Italian Trains
I will be visiting Italy in September. Can I take my bicycle on the train? I
will be traveling from Venice to Roma by way Florence. I may want to take the train from Ravenna to Ronta. Is this possible? Thanks! |
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#2
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Peter A. Vernaci wrote:
I will be visiting Italy in September. Can I take my bicycle on the train? I will be traveling from Venice to Roma by way Florence. I may want to take the train from Ravenna to Ronta. Is this possible? Thanks! Try reading this: http://www-math.science.unitn.it/Bik..._Railways.html For bookings try: http://www.trenitalia.com/home/en/index.html |
#3
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"Peter A. Vernaci" wrote in message om...
I will be visiting Italy in September. Can I take my bicycle on the train? I will be traveling from Venice to Roma by way Florence. I may want to take the train from Ravenna to Ronta. Is this possible? Some trains allow bikes, others not. In general, the faster and longer distance trains do not allow bikes, the slower and shorter distance trains do. You can check out the schedules on http://www.trenitalia.it and look for Regional and Direct trains between cities of interest. Forget the Eurostar; you would have to ship your bike as baggage and it will be on an different train. The European Connection (EC) trains do carry bikes, but there is a passenger supplement (extra cost) on them. If you drill down into specific trains in the schedule there will be a box on 'Accomodations' and a bicycle icon will appear in that box if bikes are allowed. Operationally, there is 3.50 Euro/day supplement for bikes. You need to buy one bike supplement per bike per day, unlimited number of trains/connections. The supplement has two parts; you separate the two parts, validate both, and attach one to the bike (I have wrapped it around handlebars and top tube). The bikes usually go on the rearward most car, though it can be the forward most. Look as the train comes into the station and be ready to move quickly. Some of the bike cars have hooks for the bikes, some you lean against the side so carry a bungee cord so your bike does not topple over. Most stations have multiple platforms and the crossings are not at grade; there is a 'sotto passaggio', a tunnel with stairs at both ends, to get between platforms. No elevators. We rode in northern Italy in June and used trains from Venice to Longarone, from Sondrio to Varenna, from Lecco to Desanzano di Garda, and from Verona to Venice. In general the ticket agents were indifferent to the bike issue, but the on-board personnel were usually very helpful. Good luck, - rick |
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Peter A. Vernaci wrote:
I will be visiting Italy in September. Can I take my bicycle on the train? I will be traveling from Venice to Roma by way Florence. I may want to take the train from Ravenna to Ronta. Is this possible? Thanks! I have taken my bike on the train from Naples to Rome and from Florence to Venice. My route from Florence to Venice was via Prato and Bologna. The other advice is all correct. To put it simply, either ask at the Information window for routes with bicycles allowed, or look on the schedule yourself. There will be an icon of a 'bici." for trains that take bikes. The train information agent in Florence planned my route for me - with train changes. Based on my experience I must add; be prepared to assert yourself when it comes time to load your bike. The conductor or car attendant may need the rules explained to them. This is certainly not always necessary, but I found it to be the case a couple of times (Naples to Rome in particular). Once I acted in a manner I felt was somewhat angry, I got a smile and even assistance loading it on the car. You didn't say anything about leaving Italy, so this shouldn't matter, but when I inquired in Venice about taking a train into Austria, the train information people all told me it was not possible - simply that - not possible. I had to have faith that they were all wrong - - - and they were. -- ***************************** Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO http://www.CycleTourist.com Integrity is obvious. The lack of it is common. ***************************** |
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Peter A. Vernaci wrote:
I will be visiting Italy in September. Can I take my bicycle on the train? I will be traveling from Venice to Roma by way Florence. I may want to take the train from Ravenna to Ronta. Is this possible? Thanks! Just show up at the train station. All the trains that take bicycles has a picture of a bike on the train schedule. Kenny Lee |
#6
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On 31 Aug 2004 10:59:20 -0700, Rick Warner wrote:
The European Connection (EC) trains ??? EuroCity actually. -- Michael MacClancy Random putdown - "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker www.macclancy.demon.co.uk www.macclancy.co.uk |
#7
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Since the topic seems to be trains to Rome, does the same thing hold true
for trains from Nice (France) toRome? I'm planning on taking a bike trip Rome-Sardinia-Corsica-Nice with a British group and would need to get back to Rome for flight home to Berkeley, California. -- Steve Juniper "The Bush administration's 'war on terror' is legal nonsense - conferring no more powers on the US to detain prisoners than the 'war against obesity' - and President Bush's policy of pre-emptive self-defense is clearly illegal under international law." -- Elizabeth Wilmshurst - Int'l Law expert -- "Chuck Anderson" wrote in message news:g78Zc.93765$Fg5.3906@attbi_s53... Peter A. Vernaci wrote: I will be visiting Italy in September. Can I take my bicycle on the train? I will be traveling from Venice to Roma by way Florence. I may want to take the train from Ravenna to Ronta. Is this possible? Thanks! I have taken my bike on the train from Naples to Rome and from Florence to Venice. My route from Florence to Venice was via Prato and Bologna. The other advice is all correct. To put it simply, either ask at the Information window for routes with bicycles allowed, or look on the schedule yourself. There will be an icon of a 'bici." for trains that take bikes. The train information agent in Florence planned my route for me - with train changes. Based on my experience I must add; be prepared to assert yourself when it comes time to load your bike. The conductor or car attendant may need the rules explained to them. This is certainly not always necessary, but I found it to be the case a couple of times (Naples to Rome in particular). Once I acted in a manner I felt was somewhat angry, I got a smile and even assistance loading it on the car. You didn't say anything about leaving Italy, so this shouldn't matter, but when I inquired in Venice about taking a train into Austria, the train information people all told me it was not possible - simply that - not possible. I had to have faith that they were all wrong - - - and they were. -- ***************************** Chuck Anderson . Boulder, CO http://www.CycleTourist.com Integrity is obvious. The lack of it is common. ***************************** |
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"Steve Juniper" wrote in message news:3fmZc.97058$Fg5.54228@attbi_s53...
Since the topic seems to be trains to Rome, does the same thing hold true for trains from Nice (France) toRome? I'm planning on taking a bike trip Rome-Sardinia-Corsica-Nice with a British group and would need to get back to Rome for flight home to Berkeley, California. Steve, International travel on trains is a bit dicey. I would have predicted that Chuck could get to Austria, as several EC trains, which have a utility car with space for bikes at the back, head north to Germany. I just checked the schedules between Nice and Rome and there are no EC trains going over there, and the situation looks bleak .. but perhaps possible. On the current schedule, one of the four trains listed out of Nice going that way, the one at 10:02, allows bikes. But that train goes to Genoa and the connecting train to Rome does not allow bikes. You might be able to take that train to Genoa then hopscotch south towards Rome on Regional trains, which usually takes bike. It will probably entail at least 2 or 3 transfers, but it can be done. Any reason, though, for not flying out of Nice? - rick |
#9
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I'd prefer returning from Nice, but my initial checking gives me $US503 RT
San Francisco-Rome but $US1089 if I return from Nice. Will check later. (If I had sufficient FF miles to travel, return point wouldn't matter - last year using them I flew into Bilbao and returned from Barcelona with no problem). Also rather amusing to see $US484 one way Madrid-Rome and $US205 Round trip. When we're talking about bicycles on trains in Europe, does that generally mean assembled and more or less rideable? In other words, is a box with a disassembled bike in it travel as a big box, or as a bike??? -- Steve Juniper "The Bush administration's 'war on terror' is legal nonsense - conferring no more powers on the US to detain prisoners than the 'war against obesity' - and President Bush's policy of pre-emptive self-defense is clearly illegal under international law." -- Elizabeth Wilmshurst - Int'l Law expert -- "Rick Warner" wrote in message om... "Steve Juniper" wrote in message news:3fmZc.97058$Fg5.54228@attbi_s53... Since the topic seems to be trains to Rome, does the same thing hold true for trains from Nice (France) toRome? I'm planning on taking a bike trip Rome-Sardinia-Corsica-Nice with a British group and would need to get back to Rome for flight home to Berkeley, California. Steve, International travel on trains is a bit dicey. I would have predicted that Chuck could get to Austria, as several EC trains, which have a utility car with space for bikes at the back, head north to Germany. I just checked the schedules between Nice and Rome and there are no EC trains going over there, and the situation looks bleak .. but perhaps possible. On the current schedule, one of the four trains listed out of Nice going that way, the one at 10:02, allows bikes. But that train goes to Genoa and the connecting train to Rome does not allow bikes. You might be able to take that train to Genoa then hopscotch south towards Rome on Regional trains, which usually takes bike. It will probably entail at least 2 or 3 transfers, but it can be done. Any reason, though, for not flying out of Nice? - rick |
#10
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Rick Warner wrote:
"Steve Juniper" wrote in message news:3fmZc.97058$Fg5.54228@attbi_s53... Since the topic seems to be trains to Rome, does the same thing hold true for trains from Nice (France) toRome? I'm planning on taking a bike trip Rome-Sardinia-Corsica-Nice with a British group and would need to get back to Rome for flight home to Berkeley, California. Steve, International travel on trains is a bit dicey. I would have predicted that Chuck could get to Austria, as several EC trains, which have a utility car with space for bikes at the back, head north to Germany. That's something I wish I had known then, but as it was ........ ....... the train leaving Venice was an Austrian train - manned by Austrian rail employees. But it wasn't until after I had boarded that I learned Austrian trains are very bicycle friendly. The Italian Rail Information people had NO clue. As I said before, they all repeatedly said "is not possible!" They told me to check into shipping the bike separately. This was typical of my experiences with Italian rail. So I took matters into my own hands (taking a cue from Jobst Brandt's method of bike transport on trains.) Not knowing ahead of time what would work, and having met a friend in Venice that was traveling with me to Austria, I disassembled the bike (both wheels off, crank arms off, stem completely out, chain in a bag) and created two separate "bundles" to carry using bungee cords and duct tape. We stashed those under the seats in our couchette cabins when we boarded and no one ever said a thing. I didn't check if that was necessary, as I hadn't known ahead of time and went ahead with my plan so we were ready to board when the train arrived in the station. My guess now is that there was probably a place I could have put the bike intact. Austrian trains are *VERY* bicycle friendly. (It was comical having the Italian rail officials and police stare at my bike and kind of scratch their heads. I had gotten a lot of grief about having a bicycle out by the platforms. They seemed tongue-tied when they saw the menagerie of frame and wheels I had created sitting at our feet.) -- ***************************** Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO http://www.CycleTourist.com Integrity is obvious. The lack of it is common. ***************************** |
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