another important trenitalia question
 

I'm trying to buy a ticket on trenitalia and there is no option for "ticketless" being offered. The choice is "self service" or "home delivery"

Obviously we don't want home delivery. We are trying to travel on a strike day. Is it possible the seats are sold out? Should I choose the self service option? It seems we'll get an email with a number and we type in our name and the number inot the auto machine at the station and it gives us our ticket. Does anyone know: if we choose this option can we get our tickets out of the machine on a day other than the travel day? I assume the train station wll be a mad house on strike day as this is the one of the few gaurenteed trains to run so I would want to get the tickets in hand a few days ahead, if possible.

You want "ticketless solution with payment receipt given on board"....it appears to the left of self service or home delivery.

with ticketless you get an email with your booking code PNR on it. That is your ticket. Just get on the train and when the conductor stops by give him the paper, he will use his little machine and issue a ticket.

Thre is no ticketless choice. To lft on top of the page there is a link that says ticketless and this is just a description of what that option is. When I enter the information for 2 tickets for the train I've selected I do not get an option to buy ticketless!

TravMimi,
So I choose the self-service option and just present the email with the code when I get on the train? It seems to say that with htis option i have to go to a self-serve machine and type in my name and the code to get a printed ticket. There is no place to actually select "ticketless"

plafield - which train? not a little local one right?

Here is a quote from the Purchase Guide at trenitalia.com:

Ticket collection from stations with self-service ticket machines is free and has the added advantage that you can use it right up until the departure of the train. Before choosing collection from a self-service ticket machine make sure there is a machine in the departure or collection station.
To collect a ticket from a station self-service ticket machine, you must bring with you:
- the PNR Reservation Code you receive via e-mail after the on-line purchase
- first name and surname used for the purchase,
- on the self-service machine screen select "Internet" and follow the simple issuing procedure.

Unless someone knows better, I assume you could go to the station one or more days ahead of your departure date and get your ticket from the machine.

TravMimi, it's the #84 IC train I'm trying to buy for. The only ES that goes stops in Florence on strike days leaves at 6:30 in the morning. This IC train leaves at 7:45 with the same 2 hour travel time.

plafield, last week I bought 4 tickets from Florence to Venice for May 15. Right below where you can choose seats, which I did not do, there were 4 options, one being ticketless solution with recipt given on board. I selected that and received an e-mail from Trenitalia with my reservation code.
Hope it works for you!

plafield - The 84 is an EC and there is no "ticketless" option for those. Not to worry it doesn't change what you do online. Just check self service. You will still get a PNR booking code. Simply print out the page that shows the PNR(I do this just in case I don't get an email) You should then get the official e-mail just as with ticketless, only difference is you have to get the ticket from a self service machine at the station you CAN'T just jump on the train. At the machine enter your name and PNR number and your ticket will pop out

TravMimi: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP! With the information you provided I was able to figure out which train would still run from Rome to Florence on a strike day (the IC #84)and succeeded in buying 2 tickets for first class on trenitalia.

Now I can relax and know that we won't be scambling to figure out what to do or forced to travel standing while packed like a sardine onto the train on strike day. And if they cancel the strike, all that's changed is that we'll leave Rome a few hours earlier than we had orignally planned, which then allows us to have a relaxing lunch in Florence as opposed to a picnic on the train. All is well beause of Fodors and the excellent information and advice available here.

Strike Day? How do you know it is a Strike Day and what day is it? We're going in a couple of weeks with three train trips planned. I'm aware there are often strikes, but I'm wondering how you already know which day and which trains will be running anyway! Thanks.

plafield - I'm so glad it worked out for you. Yours was an unusual case and you did a great job! It's a pleasure to help someone who obviously wants to learn and not just get easy answers. I think you'll be very happy that you took an earlier train too. You won't feel like you've done any less of Rome and you'll feel like you did a lot more of Florence. Have a wonderful trip.

jgahamiii, I heard about the strike here on Fodors and confirmed it at this link: http://www.seekitaly.com/news/from_roma.html

While strikes are sometimes announced and then settled or canceled, if you're planning to travel by train on the 18th (the strike starts at 9:00PM on the 17th and ends 9 PM on the 18th)You might want to come up with a plan B.

The Trenitalia site lists the trains that will still run under the link that says, NEWS/STRIKE NEWS. You may have to do some sleuthing to see if you can get to your destination on a train that will still be running on the strike day and if you find one you may want to buy it as soon as possible just to insure you get a seat.

Thanks Plafield. Actually while you were typing your very helpful answer, I managed to find all the things you stated, and of course, we're traveling on the 18th in the morning. I was able to book some seats on a ES* that I've held for 24 hours with "postoclick". My problem at this point is that I already have paid for reservations on another train that day, 2 of which were DUEperUNO that is "non-transferable" to another train. I'm sure this does not apply in the event of a strike, but I have not idea how to transfer one from the other. I guess I'll keep rebooking each day for the next 24 hours until they either call off the strike or we get to Rome and then talk to a live person about it. You can't call them from the states, and faxing them has done nothing for me but wasted the money for the call.

My only concern is that I found a train with the same number and time leaving from Rome, but is says it goes to Reggio di Calabria Centrale on the Strike page and I want to go to Naples Centrale. I am assuming this is the same train and it will stop in Naples, but on the Strike Page they just list the end of the line. If anyone knows I'm wrong here, feel free to pipe in!

Yes, on the strike page it only lists the end of the line. They can't possibly list every stop. As long as the train number is the same you can puchase just the leg of the trip to your destination and that train is gaurneteed to run. I have no idea if you will be able to tranfer your old tickets or will have to buy an additional set.

jgrahamiii, if you search the forum for "train strike Italy", you'll find a recent thread with some web sites that announce strikes and another web site which lists trains that run even when there's a strike.

Train strikes are not uncommon in Italy, which is partly why we generally recommend travelers don't rely on a specific train on a specific day to get them to a plane flight or a cruise departure.

Thanks Mimar. When I read about the strike on this thread, I kind of panicked and asked the question before doing my own searching. Mia Cattiva (probably not the best of grammer, but I'm trying!). I've got my plan B at this point if I need it, It's just probably going to cost me something!

This is great information, thanks everyone!