almesq

I know that train tickets must be validated using the machines on the platforms, but I've read conflicting things about Eurostar tickets--do they need to be validated, or is the validation only for the IC and other non-Eurostar trains?
Thanks.
Also, can anyone recommend a conveniently located travel agency in Rome where I can buy Eurostar tickets when we arrive?
Thanks again.

bobthenavigator

There is an AMEX office just north of Piazza Navona and another near the Spanish Steps. Any CIT office will also suffice.

almesq

Thanks Bob.

sera

You don't need to validate Eurostar tickets.

almesq

Thank you very much.

l_jackson95814

I was told that you did have to validate Eurostar tickets. The machines are all over the train stations and it is not worth the cost of having to pay a fine for not validating.

grace_omalley

Just stick the ticket in one of the yellow machines near the gate and the validation is accomplished. We did validate our Eurostar tickets. I understood that it was required.

ellenem

Really, it couldn't hurt to validate your ticket. There are yellow machines on the platforms, so do it just in case.

craisin

You don't need to validate a Eurostar (Italia) ticket because on Eurostar, reservations are mandatory. So, the date and time of your reservation is listed on the ticket and you are held to that.

As for IC trains, no reservations are required--the only thing printed on the ticket is the starting point and ending point. So, the only way for a conductor to know whether or not the ticket is still valid is by the timestamp. I believe it is valid for 6 hours from the timestamp. So, if you are going from Florence to Rome and wanted to stop at one of the stops in between, you may. But, make sure you catch another (IC) train going to Roma within the time period that your ticket is valid.

I must admit, I still stamp my Eurostar ticket. Like the other posters said, it only takes a second (unless there's a line).

TopMan

Why do people do things they know they don't have to?

sera

I've traveled on the Eurostar many times without validating my ticket and never had a problem.

rfb

There is no need to go to a travel agent to purchase tickets. There are ticket machines all over the train stations. You pop in your credit card, punch up the date and time you want to travel, select your seat assignment and out pops your ticket.

Eurostar tickets do not have to be validated.

dragonrider

I have a similar question about validating a train ticket. I'll be on a train home from Lucerne, headed to Milan. I have a Swiss pass to cover the portion in Switzerland and a separate ticket to cover the portion from Chiasso to Milan. The agent said I needed to validate the ticket in Chiasso, but my train only stops in Chiasso for 4 minutes. Any suggestions?

GAC

The Italian language version of the Trenitalia website states that Eurostar tickets need NOT be validated by time stamping. Nevertheless, there is absolutely no penalty imposed for, nor any problem with, validating Eurostar tickets anyway. I myself do validate them.

By stamping the ticket, you have a time record of the date and time when you "used" your ticket. Some people like this information for their travel scrapbooks.

So the "bottom line" is that you have the option of validating, or of not validating, Eurostar tickets, at your pleasure (absent a change in regulations).

GAC

P.S. You MUST validate all other rail tickets which are NOT Eurostar tickets!

Failure to do so will result in a penalty, or at a minimum in a stern warning from the ticket agent.

Therefore, if you are travelling on an Intercity or Eurocity train (with or without with optional seat reservations), any kind of night train (Intercity Night, Eurocity Night, Espresso) other than Eurostar, or any kind of local train (diretto, interregionale or regionale), remember to validate your ticket prior to boarding.

Also, you CANNOT break a journey on a Eurostar train at an intermediate stop and later board a subsequent Eurostar train for your final destination.

dragonrider

Thanks for that info. But I'm still confused. Aside from my Swiss Pass, I have a regular ticket on Trenitalia that needs to be validated from Chiasso to Milan. But the train I'm traveling on from Lugano to Milan does not stop in Chiasso. Can I validate that ticket in Lugano before I board?

amy_zena

dragonrider, I don't know if this will help but here is an experience I had traveling from Switzerland to Italy by train (Martigny to Genoa, via Milan).

I had the same concerns as you. I had Italian train tickets and asked the man working in Martigny station how to go about validating my tickets here because they don't fit the Swiss validating machine. He told me that it is not necessary to validate Swiss tickets, only Italian. So he told me I must wait until I arrive in Milan to validate my second part of the journey (Milan to Genoa).

Now your situation sounds a bit tricky because it sounds like you won't really have an opportunity in Italy to validate your ticket. And from MY experience, it looks as though you cannot validate your ticket in Switzerland even if you wanted to because italian tickets won't fit in the machines there. If I were you, I would try to validate the ticket in Switzerland (maybe Lucern has machines that italian tickets will fit in) or just tell the train conductor the situation. I have never been fined or got in trouble from the trenitalia people for making mistakes or not knowing what I should do. Maybe I have been lucky.

It is really a separate ticket from Chiasso to Milan even though it is the same train from Lucerne to Milan? Because my tickets were issued as Martigny - Milan, Milan - Genoa.

FYI...when traveling in Italy by train, if you are going for example from Genoa to Florence via Pisa and you have been issued 2 tickets (1 for Genoa-Pisa, 1 for Pisa-Florence), you may validate both tickets in Genoa so you don't have to bother with validating the second ticket in Pisa.

I hope this helps, but I have a feeling maybe it didn't.

dugbell

Hello
I have a question - what does the validation machine do, does it punch holes in the ticket or print on it ? - my SNCF tickets from Rome to Lausanne with an hour stopover in Milan have a printed barcode code on one end, which end do I validate ? Also can I validate at Rome for the whole Journey as I wish to avoid any problems or delays at Milan.
I know I can probably find out at the station but it would be good to have some Idea about what happens
thank you!

adrienne

You validate your ticket when you start your journey, not at every stop. It doesn't matter which end you punch. I never looked at the validation (can't read it since it's so smeary) but I think it's a date and time stamp - that's the only thing that would make sense. It's definitely not holes. If you have a ticket for a specific date and time there is no need to validate it. Validation is for tickets that are good for any day and time so you can't reuse them for multiple journies.

adrienne

journeys