Bikes on Trains - Italy

Contributed by Andreas Caranti on October 14 1994

Look at a very big (but not terribly up to date) picture of Bikes on Trains. (Special thanks to Massimo Nicolodi.)


Up to the Trento Bike Pages. See similar information concerning France.

You can carry your bike with you on every Italian train, except those labeled "P" ("Pendolino", sort of a German ICE), provided you

  1. disassemble your bike
  2. put it in a proper bag, and
  3. "do not endanger other passengers".
On many trains labeled "R" ("Regionale"), "IR" ("Interregionale") and "D" ("Diretto"), that is, short- to medium-distance trains, you can also carry your bike with you, by putting it in special compartments earmarked for carrying bikes. (No dismantling required.) On arrival of the train you want to take, notify the train personnel. They will tell you where to put your bike, but you are supposed to load it on the train yourself. (You would probably prefer to handle your precious machine yourself anyway.) Trains that allow bikes are marked with a bike icon in the timetable.

If you're traveling in a biggish group, it is necessary or at least advisable to check with the station of departure in advance. Some trains cannot accommodate easily more than half a dozen bikes at a time.

All you have to do to take your bike with you on an Italian train is to buy a special ticket, besides the regular ticket for you. This costs 5000Lire, that is, approximately 5DM or less than 4.00$ (price and exchange rate as of October 1994). On beginning the trip, you have to stamp your ticket (which carries no date) on both sides at the machines you find in the stations. You are now entitled to free travel for your bike for 24 hours, no matter how many trains you take.

This information is extracted from the Official Timetable of the Italian Railways (Winter 94/95). I have used the latter option a number of times around Trento, and it works well.

Up to the Trento Bike Pages.