Eurostar and Inter City trains run on time?
 

We ( couple) are travelling from Foligno to Pescara ( with luggage) by train in October.

Looking at booking mini fares on Trenitalia-

Eurostar: Foligno- Ancona

Inter City: Ancona to Pescara

There is a 1 hour connection time, which is fine as long as the first train runs to schedule!.

Just wondered if Eurostar Italia and InterCity trains generally run right on time-

Uncertain whether to wait until we're there to buy ticket, but then don't want to miss out either.

How big a station is Ancona to navigate?

Eurostar trains IME of taking many are usually right on time - in fact Trenitalia, Italy's national rail company, I believe guarantees being on time or gives some kind of refund if not.

With a one-hour connect you should be fine

Are mini-fare tickets transferable in case first train is late? If not then full fare may be best for the last leg - have no worry about getting seats in Italy - in my years of train traveling there I have rarely if ever encountered full trains - and worst would be you'd have to go first class and that IMO is the way for the average tourist esp if luggage in tow to go - significantly more relaxed trip with lots more room to easily store luggage - larger seats - seat with an aisle and window - not the always two by two seats in 2nd class, etc.

Check these fantastic IMO sites for info on Italian trains - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

and again you will not miss out by waiting if you mean getting on a train - you may miss out on the limited in number mini fares however which should be booked as soon as possible to guarantee their availability.

You can track historical "on time" performance of EVERY Trenitalia domestic train on the following site:

http://www.viaggiatreno.it/viaggiatreno/

If you have more than an "official" 15-minute connection between the Eurostar and the Intercity train (both are fast national trains), and you MISS the connection, Trenitalia should accommodate you on the next departing train to your final destination, without penalty or surcharge, even if you have a "MINI" fare ticket which ordinarily becomes worthless if you miss the train by even one second. If you have a "base" fare ticket and MISS the connection by more than one hour (which is the grace period for the "base" fare), you should still be accommodated without penalty or surcharge, as long as the "official" connection between the national trains was 15 minutes or more.

The "15-minute" connection rule does NOT NOT apply if you're connecting FROM an unreserved "regionale" train TO one of the fast trains, and MISS the second train, for which you hold a "MINI" fare ticket. Here, you're probably out of luck. However, if you have at least a one-hour connection, and still MISS the second train, Trenitalia should still accommodate you (whether you have a "MINI" fare ticket or a "Base" fare ticket on the fast train). At least, this is how it's been explained to me by a Trenitalia Customer Service Agent!

We have had several experiences of the Eurostar and IC trains not running on time but usually they do.

the fact that Mussolini got the trains to run on time is a fallacy but Tremitalia recently has seemed to do its best, with its guarantees, etc.

a problem IME in Italy is the 6-hour strikes that seem to pop up all too often - discounted tickets may not easily be transferred in that case it seems as even though a percentage of trains are guaranteed to be strike immune, they of course sell out quickly when strikes are previewed as IME they usually are.