I've taken the train several times in Italy, but so far I haven't found a really good way of knowing whether an arriving train is the one I want. I know to look on the bulletin boards to see which track (binario) your train will be on and the time of arrival, but how do you know that the train that's arriving on that track at approximately the right time is the one you want and not another train that's scheduled for the same track at approximately the same time? Is there a numbering system, or somewhere on the train that I can look for a sign stating the train's destination? I have so far relied on the kindness of Italian strangers, but there may not always be one in the station when I need him/her.

You do not have to look at the train, you have to look at the platform. Beside asking the train responsibles (the guys in green uniforms that you can see on the platform), in most stations (all of the stations where there can be confusion of this kind) there are electrionic panels that state the number of the train (if you have a reservation it is written on it), its destination, the departure time, if it is late and how late and sometimes even its main stops.

Blanche,<BR><BR>&quot; How to Identify Trains in Italy?&quot;<BR><BR>They are very large, run on rails and go Choo-Choo.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.<BR><BR>Mr. Engineer

Blanche,<BR><BR>I understand the problem only too well!<BR>I took Alice Twains suggested advice to a question that I posted about where to get dried porcini mushrooms and she suggested going to Pistoia. Since I was staying in a town only 15 train minutes from there, off we went.<BR>However, when we got off, a potty stop was REALLY important and we didn't really get our &quot;bearings&quot;, so that when we were ready for the return trip, we didn't know which way our returning train would be heading. Neither of us could remember from which direction we had come--only how much we had to go to the bathroom.<BR>There we stood---or raced up and down stairways to get across tracks with BOTH trains in the station, trying to decide &quot;which one?????&quot; No one seemed to speak english and guys in green uniforms weren't around, that's for sure. Finally, some poor soul told us in broken English which train.<BR><BR>My advice, when you get off, if you plan to get back on later, is to look for some identifying landscape and which side of the road the tracks are on. <BR><BR>It is a wonderful to travel, but not without a few &quot;problems&quot;. Alice Twain is Italian so it comes naturally to her; she always is so helpful with answers to posts.

Roco. I hope you found nice porcini and a nice town too ^_^.

Thank you, Alice and roco. Don't forget to register, Alice, if you haven't done so already, so we can continue to benefit from your knowledge of Italy. (BTW, Alice, since English is not your native tongue, I wonder if you recognized my allusion to &quot;A Streetcar Named Desire&quot; by Tennessee Williams -- that's where the character Blanche DuBois says a famous line, &quot;I have always relied on the kindness of strangers.&quot; My question was a real one, but I posted it under a phony name. I guess I'll have to stop doing this come tomorrow.)

I would have if I had just paid attention ^_^