I was researching the Eurostar website trying to get some ideas of schedules but I have a question. Often there is a connection & it says "notice: 12 minutes between train connections" (or whatever). I have 2 questions: 1) is the luggage automatically placed on the connecting train? 2) How much time do we need to allow to switch trains?

Where are you planning to change trains?
Luggage is not transferred between trains: you have to do it yourself.
The time needed for connections depends on various factors. If you give more details, people will be able to suggest how long you need.

It's not like an airplane - you are in charge of your luggage the whole time. So you will be the one taking it to your next train (and storing it on both trains).

Time to connect depends on the station - a large one may take longer than a small town to get between platforms. Where exactly are you going?

I just read about the luggage handling ... thank you for being so kind with such a silly question!

I am not familiar with the system at all so I was looking at La Spezia to Florence, for example, to try to get an idea of how things work. There are several trains each day. Some are listed with connections in Pisa but the times seem really close (ie 8 minutes). I was just wondering if this is realistic.

To say you are on a "Eurostar" website, implies you are not on the official Italian railway system, since "Eurostar" is just one class/type of train in Italy among a number of types. (There are Eurostar websites for serFrom your description, it sounds like you were indeed researching at the official site:

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

As others have said, the amount of time needed to switch depends on the station in question. Some stations are small, some are larger. Pisa is a medium-size station and switching trains may or may not involve climbing stairs. For an able-bodied person, 12 minutes should be enough time, though this is another reason to travel with minimal luggage to ease these connections. Not knowing the nature of your group, I cannot predict how you will do.

Oops--submitted before I was done! I meant to complete the parenthetical phrase:

(There are Eurostar websites for service in other countries, so just trying to avoid confusion for others.)

There are just 2 of us & we are very active. Thank you for the link.

So, is this website not correct:

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/po...riprequest.htm

I cannot navigate the link you posted as easily as the above. Thanks for the clarification!

Yes, the 8min connection is realistic. There are trains from Pisa to Florence every 30min or so all day long. If you miss the 1st train, just hop on the next one. If the trains aren't on adjacent tracks, then you'd have to walk down a flight of steps, cross under to the right platform, then go back up a flight of steps.

There are no reserved seats on the regional trains that run from Pisa to Florence. Be sure to validate your ticket in one of the yellow ticket machines in the station BEFORE you board the train.

RailEurope is a ticket reseller. They sell the same tickets as the official site and add service fees. Since RailEurope sells tickets for a number of countries, that may be why you read the luggage info about Eurostar--it was for another country's train, not Italy. (Note: U.S. credit card holders cannot purchase online from the official site.)

I've been to Italy many many times and have never purchased a ticket before arriving in Italy. I use the official site to check and print schedules and prices to make purchasing easier once I arrive in Italy.

(Note: U.S. credit card holders cannot purchase online from the official ITALIAN site.)

>>>RailEurope is a ticket reseller. They sell the same tickets as the official site and add service fees.<<<

They only sell some of the tickets available on Trenitalia, not all. They markup the price and tack on a mailing fee. Buy your tickets in Italy.

>>>mykidsmom99 on May 15, 10 at 7:57pm
So, is this website not correct:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/po...riprequest.htm
I cannot navigate the link you posted as easily as the above. Thanks for the clarification!<<<

I'm not sure why you have a problem with Ellen's link. All you have to do is enter your cities and date. Here's another link for Trenitalia.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...0080a3e90aRCRD

Sorry, didn't pay attention to your cities. Some of your trains on the routes to small towns will only be the slower R trains as the faster ES trains do not stop in the small towns. R trains will only show on Trenitalia about a week out so enter a day within the next 7 days to see all the trains. Schedules don't really change much (summer schedule starts mid-June) during the year. Just pick the same day of week you plan to travel.

If you have a short connection, be standing at the door of the train when it pulls into the station so you can be among the first to get off.

Rail Europe's timtables are incomplete. They only show timetables for trains for which they sell tickets.

The Trenitalia site will give you both timetables and fares for Italian trains.

The best site for detailed timetables for virtually all of Europe is www.bahn.de, the German Rail site.