Hagar_Peleg

good evening,

i intand to go to firenze on march. i want to go between rome and firenze by train. i would be greatful to get people experiance if the trains in this line usualy on time or late. this information is realy important to me before buying the tickets.

thank you for the answers,

nytraveler

Sometimes on time. Sometimes late. Sometimes very late. Sometimes on strike.

If you tell us why the time matters so much - people can make suggestions on waht to do.

(I had 2 train experiences in italy - one came into Rome 45 minutes late, the other into Florence abuor 25 minutes late.)

Hagar_Peleg

thank you for your answer. i'll try to explain some more,

i need to be in Fiumicino airport not late then 7:00 PM and the train i am interseting in is depature Firenze SMN at 3:10 PM arriving at termini Rome station at 4:45 PM.
i understand i need to take another train or maiby cab to the airport.

what do you think? according to the time at the day and that the travel is on march 2011 which i believe is not a very busy tourist time?


thank you for your answers.

J62

In my limited experience the high speed trains that go between Rome and Florence are on-time. You should not book train tickets assuming they will be late and you'll therefore have extra time to catch a train.

The same holds true at the arriving end. You should not book a time critical appointment assuming the train will be on time, or try to catch a very short connection.

J62

I would have no concern with the itinerary you desrcibe

Depart Fl SMN 15:10
Arr Rome Termini 16:45

The train from Rome termini to the airport runs every 30min at :22 and :52 every hour, and takes 31min.

You have plenty of time to get to the airport by 19:00

Hagar_Peleg

J62 thank you for your answers,

the only concern i have is what will happen if the train from firenze will be late.

maiby you can tell me from your experience, did you ever meet late problem in this line? how many time you travel in this time? it will just help me to get the picture more clear.

thank you for your answers.

J62

There are trains from Florence to Rome every 30min and there are no stops along the way. Your train would have to be late by more than 75min before I had any concern - and that isn't going to happen.

Best case you arrive at Termini with enough time to catch the 16:52 Leonardo Express, which gets you to FCO by 17:23, or 90min before you say you need to be at the airport.

More likely you won't dash to the airport train and you'll have a 37min layover at Termini will get to the airport by 17:53 - still an hour early.

If your Florence to Rome train is delayed more than 30min you still have 2 more chances after that to get to the airport by 19:00.

If your Florence to Rome train is delayed by more than an hour something would have to be dreadfully wrong with the route, but you'd still have time to get to the airport by 19:00.

Hagar_Peleg

J62 thank you for your answer,

i understand your calulation. still i want to ask if you know how long is the distance between the firenze train line end stop at termini and the depature leonardo express? is it close or not? does it take a long time to walk or not?

and i thank you again.

Peter_S_Aus

Allow ten minutes from the arrival platform for the Firenze train, and the train to Leonardo airport. A little longer if you have much baggage.

J62

The Leonardo airport express leaves from Tracks 25 & 26, at this location (41.897474,12.505965), (plug it into google maps).

Using satellite view you can see the main station just above it and all the trains lined up - the common platform is at the top left - I'd guess the distance about the length of a football field walk.

Hagar_Peleg

nytraveler , J62 and Peter_S_Aus , thank you all for your kind and helpful answers.

Hagar_Peleg

j62,

thank you for your last answer.

kybourbon

>>>Your train would have to be late by more than 75min before I had any concern - and that isn't going to happen.<<<

I've had it happen (September 08). My train was at least 70 minutes late. I was taking the AV to Naples which of course makes it's first stop in Rome.

greg

I don't know the rest of your itinerary. If your itinerary is something like this: a few days in Rome, a few days in Florence, fly home; then if you can change to a few days in Florence, a few days in Rome, fly home; then you can eliminate this kind of timing concern.

Mimar

I would never take an Italian train the same day I was flying home. I've had too many experiences with strikes/breakdowns and once a suicide on the tracks. That said, the trains between Florence and Rome are frequent and probably about as reliable as they come. But what if you don't make it?

greg makes a good suggestion. End up in Rome.

LoveItaly

I am another one that would never take a chance with a train in Italy on the same day I was going to take a flight from Italy. If you are going to visit Florence, Hagar, I would do as greg suggested. Stay in Florence, take the train to Rome and stay in Rome for your last days so that you can get to the Rome airport be it by train, a shuttle bus or taxi. Best regards.

Hagar_Peleg

greg, mimar and loveitaly, thank you so much for your naswers.

i will think it over.

have a good day,

hagar.

caroline_edinburgh

I have taken lots of trains in Italy and only ever had one delayed, by about an hour, 21 years ago, by striking workers sitting on the line ! I would certainly feel comfortable with the itinerary you propose.

MissPrism

In March our sleeper from Paris to Rome was three hours late.
On the return journey is was about 1 1/2 hours late.
We missed our Eurostar, but luckily were put on the next available train

suec1

If you don't want to change the order of your trip to end in Rome, you could just plan on an earlier train from Florence to Rome - there is a convenient luggage storage room. Arrive into Rome late morning, store your bags, have a late last lunch in Rome, stroll around a bit, then train to the airport. That makes you pretty safe unless there is a whole day strike, even then a few of the high speed trains usually run. I have had several experiences in Italy the past few years where the trains were an hour or more delayed so I like to give myself plenty of "wiggle room" when I have to make a plane.