GAC

Readers are reminded that Eurostar (ES), Eurostar-Fast (ES-Fast), and Alta Velocita' (AV) trains DO NOT stop at Orvieto, because Orvieto is off of the high-speed rail line between Rome and Florence.


The only trains which do stop at Orvieto are "Regionale" ("R"), "Intercity" ("IC") and a couple of night trains. The "R" trains are very useful to reach Rome and Florence cheaply, while the IC trains go as far south as Naples and as far north as Venice and Milan.


It's usually better to take one of the direct IC trains if your destination is Naples, Bologna, Venice or Milan, rather than connecting to one of the faster ES trains in Rome or Florence. The IC trains are considerably cheaper than the ES or AV trains, yet travel time is only slightly longer. The IC trains typically have eight second class and two first class railcars per convoy, and no restaurant or cafe car. Some of the IC trains may have a rolling cart refreshment service with beverages and light snack items. All seats on the IC trains are reserved. By contrast, no seats on the "R" trains can be reserved. All IC trains, and most "R" trains, have air conditioning.

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Graziella5b

You are right, I have just returned from Italy, I noticed that the IC train between Rome and Firenze did stop in orvietto. I took the IC and and travel time was only slightly longer. However it meant a big $ difference we got the Amici discount and three one way tickets between Rome and Florence was only aprox 65 euro. Coming back to ROme I paid with a 15% discount 36 uro in the Eurostar. The difference was aprox one more hour in the IC. Also the Intercity stops not in Santa Maria N. in Florence but at Rifredi station. WHich is only a little more to the North, a taxi to the hotel from Rifredi was 14 eu that is four more 4 eu than the taxi from the Hotel to Rifiere.
IC I believe are a good option that has to be taken into account if you wish to same real money.

GAC

BEWARE: Of the seven IC trains between Orvieto and Florence, five DO NOT go into Santa Maria Novella Station. Therefore, the 40 minutes of travel time saved by taking one of these IC trains will be squandered by needing to connect from the Firenze Rifredi Station to Firenze Santa Maria Novella. And if you should take a taxi between the two stations, you would double the cost of the train ticket, which is already 50% higher than that of the "R" train, which does go into S.M. Novella. So, you get my point about these IC trains!

Going in the opposite direction, the IC trains from Orvieto go into Roma Termini Station. But again, the time savings is only 14-30 minutes, yet the fare is double that of the "R" train.

kybourbon

Some of the trips are quite a bit longer on the IC trains. Some of the faster trains that involve a change in Rome will take only 2 1/2 hours from Orvieto to Naples while the slow trains take 3 1/2. The slow trains also don't have the amenities the faster trains have (dining car/snack bar). You also have more trains to choose from on this route if you take the faster trains. You might not want to waste vacation time hanging around waiting for the slower trains and having the longer ride.

GAC

Kybourbon is correct that you can save up to one hour of total travel time between Orvieto and Naples by connecting in Rome to one of the faster AV or ES trains, instead of taking the direct IC train. What he does not mention, is that the (up to) one hour saved by making the connection will result in a ticket which costs up to twice that of the direct IC train!!! Travellers should therefore balance the convenience of departure/arrival times versus the inconvenience of having to connect in Rome, the extra time wasted (in some cases) by taking the direct IC train, and the cost of the ticket for each option. Since I'm not a great believer in making connections (particularly with heavy luggage), I would be swayed by the much lower ticket cost of taking the direct IC train.

Travelling in the opposite direction (between Orvieto and Venice or Milan), the direct IC train is almost always the "best bet": much less expensive, and shorter (or equal) travel time than connecting in Florence or Bologna to an AV or ES train. In some cases, departure/arrival times will cause travellers to select a travel plan requiring a train change in Florence or Bologna (albeit at a higher cost).