Rome, Italy: Train Services

Don't get the Express train to Viterbo from San Pietro...

Italian train services – mostly run by Trenitalia – are rather good on the whole. They tend to be frequent, relatively quick and on time. However, while the train services themselves are usually strong, the information provided about them can often leave a lot to be desired. I found this out to my cost in Rome last week.

Overland train line

Unlike many major cities, Rome doesn’t have a particularly extensive underground system. This is largely because every time they try and extend it, the excavators come across another set of priceless Roman ruins. Therefore most journeys to the outside of Rome are done on an overland train line.

San Pietro to La Giustiniana

My hotel was just outside the Rome city boundary, and I had to catch one of these trains when coming back from a sightseeing excursion to the Vatican City. San Pietro (St Peter) station is just outside the Vatican, and a train from there stops at La Giustiniana, the nearest station to my hotel.

Train information

However, the train information at San Pietro wasn’t exactly comprehensive. The displays on the platforms just show the final destination, which is fairly useless if getting off before then. The noticeboards inside the station do list which trains go to which station at which time, but they’re not exactly easy to follow, and on occasion are complete works of fiction.

Train from Roma San Pietro to Viterbo

Eventually, I managed to ascertain that I needed the train from Roma San Pietro to Viterbo, and hopped on the next one to arrive. However, when it started to shoot through stations, I started to get a little worried. Appiano, Balduina, Gemelli and Monte Mario were all skipped. And inevitably, so was La Giuistiana. As the train sped through La Storta and Olgiata I started to worry that I was seriously on the wrong train. Was I going from Rome to Florence? Was I on the train to Milan? Maybe the Rome to Turin service or the night train to Venice?

Express service

Mercifully, it stopped at the next stop, and I sheepishly made my way over to the other platform for a train that would stop at La Giustiniana. The lesson learned was to check whether the approaching train is a normal train or an express service, however…