Italy Trains - Buying tickets at a station with no ticket office and no ticket machine
On a recent visit to Italy I found myself in situation regarding train tickets.
I was at Pioltello Limito station on the outskirts of Milan wanting to get to Milan Centrale. There was no ticket office open, no ticket machine to buy tickets and no obvious signage to direct a traveller to buy a ticket.
I was forced to buy a ticket very quickly from the TrenItalia website with only a couple of minutes to spare before the train arrived. I had the luxury of having a smartphone and included data bundle in Europe but not everyone is fortunate to have this.
What is the process to buying tickets when faced with this situation? Could one get on a train without a ticket and not face any repercussions? This is allowed in the UK as some smaller stations to not have ticket machines or a ticket office. You can buy a ticket from the train guard on the train.
It appears to be common in Italy. I was faced with the same situation at another station later in the trip but there was a very poorly written hand made sign pointing travellers to a nearby cafe.
Best Answer
In other stations which are managed by Trenitalia, you can pay an additional fee to buy the ticket on the train (5€). If the station from which you are leaving has no ticket machine and/or office the train manager generally avoids to add this fee to the ticket.
See regulations: https://aiuto.trainline.it/article/362-posso-salire-a-bordo-senza-biglietto-e-farlo-durante-il-viaggio under section "treno regionali"
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Answer 2
This is not unique to Italy, such situations are possible (though perhaps less common) in almost every country I have visited. The exact rules differ, but the major points seem to be universal (at least they were the same in France, Germany and Russia):
- once on board, ask for a ticket on your own initiative, don't wait to be asked to provide one. You risk to be fined in the latter case, even if you couldn't buy the ticket at the station where you got on board.
- note the name of the station where you boarded. This is often required to determine the price of your ticket, and will help you to defend your case if you are asked why you boarded without one.
Generally, you shouldn't expect reduced fares to be available for purchase on board and expect to pay the full price. Of course, if you're eligible to a reduced fare, it never hurts to ask.
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