Italian trains: Frecciabianca

• Q. Do trains offer facilities for handicapped passengers?

  A. The ability to exchange or refund a train ticket while you’re in Europe depends on whether you have a paper or e-ticket, as well as the specific conditions for the fare you booked.

  If you have an e-ticket that you bought on our website, you can perform the refund online, according to the conditions of your train ticket. Please visit our Cancellation and Refund page to begin.

  If you purchased a paper ticket, you must perform the exchange locally at the train station. Go to the ticket window and a railway representative will be able to assist you with the exchange procedure.

  Please keep in mind that exchanges on train tickets are only permitted for the same city pair or route originally booked.

  If your ticket is non-exchangeable, a new train ticket must be purchased.

  To obtain a refund for a paper ticket/reservation, a railway official at the origin station must cancel your seat and they must stamp the back of your ticket/reservation “Not Used” before the original train departure time. Our partners at the European Railroads will not allow us to process a refund unless this step has been taken.

  You must mail us the original unused ticket for the refund to be processed. When you’ve returned from Europe, mail us back your train ticket. Please visit the Contact Us page on this site for further details.

  If you didn’t purchase your train ticket online or are unable to initiate the refund online, please contact us using our Contact Us page for assistance. In most cases, for a refund to transpire, the associated reservation must be released before the train departure.

• Q. A rail strike in Europe prevented me from fully using my rail pass as intended. Can I get a refund on the unused days?

  A. Passes that have been activated or partially used are not eligible for a refund. You may wish to have your pass cancelled and noted by a European railroad official that it was “not used due to a strike” and return it to our customer relations department. The claim will be reviewed to see if we are able to provide compensation depending on the European railroads’ policies. Please send us a message using the Contact Us page on our site.

• Q. Are the fares offered on your website based on live availability?

  A. Yes, in most cases. The fares displayed on our website are based on current seat availability at the time you requested the fares and schedules for your journey. our booking engine has a direct link to the inventory of many European rail carriers including SNCF, Eurostar, Thalys, DB, Trenitalia, RENFE, the UK’s Association Of Train Operating Companies, and more.

  There are some routes which we can only display a cached price at the time of quotation, based on generally available fares for those trains. Actual confirmation of space and fare occurs upon completion of your order. If there are any issues, you’ll be contacted.

• Q. I misplaced the printout of my print at home e-ticket. What now?

  A. No problem. You can simply reprint your train ticket from any printer, as long as you can still access the pdf provided to you at the time of booking.

  You can find links to the pdf in the confirmation email sent to you. Or if you’ve registered for an online account, you can access the booking in which the pdf link was contained in your dashboard.

  The only exceptions are if you purchased a Thalys or NTV-Italo print at home e-ticket. Those pdf’s are sent in separate emails and can’t be retrieved online at this time.

  If you request to have your train ticket reprinted at a station ticket window, there may be a local service fee.

• Q. How do I create a Rail Europe account?

  A. You can simply click the ’Login’ button found on the top right-hand side of our homepage and select ’create an account’ to register on our site. If you are booking with us, you will also be presented with the option to register during checkout.

• Q. My print at station e-ticket was lost or stolen after I printed it. Can I print it again?

  A. Unfortunately, print at station e-tickets may only be printed once from the kiosk. In the event of a lost ticket, go to a ticket counter and ask if they can reprint it. If they are unable to, a new train ticket will have to be purchased.

  If you purchased the Rail Protection Plan™, you may be eligible for compensation.

• Q. Do the train stations offer services to help carry my luggage?

  A. Many train stations in Europe have self-service luggage carts that you can use to transport your luggage through the train station. These carts are usually coin-operated and when you return your cart, you’ll get your coin back.

  It’s always best to pack light and anticipate that you will need to carry your own luggage. Only a few stations in Europe offer porter services. Also keep in mind that while some stations offer elevators and/or escalators, you may need to carry your luggage up or down stairs to reach the correct train platform.

• Q. I’ve noticed a big difference in the cost of seat reservations for different trains. Why?

  A. Fares for reservations may vary greatly from one train to another. Unfortunately, we have no control over these prices as they’re set by each individual railroad.

  Trains that have higher priced reservations are typically high speed, international trains such as Thalys or Eurostar, as well as night trains.

  Various factors are considered by rail carriers when pricing reservations for rail pass holders. These factors can include: the technology used by the train (high speed or regular speed), the types of tracks the train travels on and their associated maintenance cost, the range of services and amenities offered on board, possible tolls incurred by the carriers depending on the train routing (such as tunnel crossing tolls) and partnerships between rail carriers for the operation of cross border trains.

  In addition, there are also specific costs associated with traveling on a night train that may include food for dinner and breakfast, as well as cabin maintenance costs (sheets, etc…). Since these costs are not associated with travel on day trains, day train reservations generally cost less.

• Q. Can I change seats after the train departs?

  A. You may check with the conductor once your train departs to see if there are any other available seating options.
  Please note that you should stay in the same class of service as your ticket or you may incur a surcharge.

  If you change seats and the seat you move to is reserved by another traveller, they will have priority.

• Q. How far in advance can I buy my rail pass?

  A. A rail pass can be purchased anywhere from 6 to 11 months prior to your first travel day. We advise you to check the specific conditions of use for the pass you are interested in.

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