European Railroad Discussion > Trenitalia class question

I recently had the opportunity to ride Trenitalia from San Pietro to Civitavecchia on the coast. I bought a first class ticket from a kiosk, but having never attempted this before, just got on the train at the nearest door when it came to a stop. The stop was only 60 to 90 seconds. It was crowded and there wasn't time to deliberate. It was apparent by the "2"s everywhere that I was in second class.

For my next trip, does Trenitalia place their first class seating at a particular location in their trains and do so consistently? Thanks for any info.

Typically in Europe, there is a diagram of each trains consist on the platform with corresponding boarding location by letter.  At least that's the case in Germany. Not sure if Italy has the same but we had no problem locating our first class car in Milan last year. 

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> Typically in Europe, there is a diagram of each
> trains consist on the platform with corresponding
> boarding location by letter.  At least that's the
> case in Germany. Not sure if Italy has the same
> but we had no problem locating our first class car
> in Milan last year. 

Yes, that is the case in Italy as well, at least it was when I left Rome in 2007. I'm not sure this is the case at the smaller stations, but there were diagrams at Rome Termini, Florence SMN, and Rome Ostiense, which were the stations I was most familiar with.

My experience in Italy is 30 years old, so somewhat out of date, lol, but only the larger stations had train makeup diagrams.  Smaller ones you just 'knew' or paid attention when the train pulled in.  Also, the smaller trains/DMUs would usually divide class by car, so some or all cars would have both 1st and 2nd class sections.  Enforcement was lax.

I doubt there would be platform diagrams would for the local trains (and I think this would be a local train). You need to look for a yellow stripe above the door or carriage.

cricketer8for9 Wrote:
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> I doubt there would be platform diagrams would for
> the local trains (and I think this would be a
> local train). You need to look for a yellow stripe
> above the door or carriage.

I believe you're right about diagrams for local trains. I used Staz. S. Pietro a number of times, but mainly for short trips. (I could use my annual pass within certain geographical limits.) I do recall printed schedules on the walls, but not platform diagrams. A quick glance at the schedule for the station shows mainly local trains, although you can also catch a train to Pisa there. There are frequent trains to Civitavecchia, but most of them are only second class. 

Very helpful. Thanks all. My Trenitalia experience overall was positive. I'll certainly be better informed next time.