Italian trains: Frecciargento

• Q. What food and drink options are on board?

  A. If the train you’re traveling on offers a bar-buffet car, you’re free to walk in, sit down and eat. Or as soon as the restaurant car opens, make a reservation for any time of day.
  On many long distance trains there may be an attendant with a snack cart who travels from car to car.

  Bar-buffet cars are a unique part of the train experience, where the quality of the food and wine can rival that of a gourmet restaurant. With the exception of Eurostar, special meal requests are not available. But typically, regular menu options are plentiful and usually cater to most taste buds or dietary restrictions.

  If you travel with a Premier Class ticket, food and drinks are included and served at your seat or in the bar-buffet car.

  On local trains there’s usually no catering. However, you are welcome to bring your own food and drinks on board. Please make sure to follow the local law when considering taking alcoholic drinks on board any train.

• Q. I have my train ticket. Do I also need to buy a reservation?

  A. Rail Europe train tickets usually include a reservation whenever possible. In other words, if you’re taking a train that requires a reservation, one will already be included with your train ticket from us. If you’re boarding a train that offers reservations but doesn’t require them, tickets sold on our website will include one, if available, at the time of booking.

  For certain trains that offer reservations but don’t require them, it is possible that we do not include a seat reservation with your train ticket. This may happen when we don’t have access to those reservations, which can only be purchased locally. Rest assured that even if this is the case, your Rail Europe train ticket will still allow you to board and sit at any unoccupied seat.

• Q. Where can I see the exchange and refund conditions of my train ticket?

  A. When browsing fares on our website, you can read a brief description of each fare flexibility level, and then see the full exchange and refund conditions for each fare.

  Once you have booked a train ticket with us, its exchange and refund rules will be indicated in your Rail Europe booking confirmation email, as well as printed with your train ticket and/or on the ticket jacket in the case of paper tickets. Please note that train tickets must be received for exchange or refund within the allowed time frame mentioned in the exchange and refund conditions.

• Q. Do I need to do anything to my train ticket before boarding the train?

  A. If you purchased and received a paper train ticket in the mail, there is nothing further you need to do.

  If you purchased a print at home e-ticket, be sure to print your ticket before you leave home and keep your train ticket safe and secure. For Italo tickets, just print your Rail Europe email confirmation which includes your unique e-ticket confirmation code(s). This e-ticket confirmation code along with your photo i.d. will be checked when on the Italo train.

  If you purchased a print at the station e-ticket, you’ll need to visit a self-service kiosk to print your train ticket (remember, you’ll need the e-ticket confirmation code included on your invoice). When retrieving your e-ticket in France at an SNCF kiosk or in Italy at a Trenitalia kiosk, you will need to “stamp your ticket” (composter votre ticket as French say) prior to boarding the train. Should you have any problems, just ask the conductor of the train to do it for you when you board the train.

• Q. My plans have changed and I won’t be able to use my rail pass. Can I get a refund?

  A. You can submit your rail pass for a refund. Please be advised that there is a 15% penalty. Only unused and unvalidated (non-activated) rail passes can be refunded. The pass must be returned to Rail Europe, along with a brief letter mentioning the original reference number of the booking. It’s strongly recommended that you send these documents by some type of traceable mail for proof of delivery.

  If you purchased the Rail Protection Plan™ and your rail pass is covered, you’re eligible to receive a credit for its entire value. No fee or penalty will be applied, and you can use this credit towards any future Rail Europe purchase within 2 years. Please read more about the Rail Protection Plan™ and for instructions on how to file a claim.

  Please visit our Cancellation and Refunds page for more information.

• Q. Do I need to show my passport to board the train?

  A. If you’re traveling with a rail pass and this is your very first train trip, you’ll need to present your passport to the railway official at the ticket window to activate your pass, before you board the train.

  Please note that there will be no passport control (day or night) when traveling between countries that signed the Schengen Treaty. Not all countries belonging to the EU are part of the Schengen Treaty (e.g. Great Britain, Ireland). On the flip side, some countries that are not part of the EU are part of the Schengen Treaty (e.g. Switzerland, Norway).

• Q. Do you offer e-tickets?

  A. Yes, on certain rail lines. There are two types of e-tickets:
  Print at home and Print at the Station

  Let’s begin with Print at Home e-tickets, of which there are 3 different types.

  The first type of e-tickets are those issued as a PDF’s which will be emailed to you and can be downloaded via a link contained in your Rail Europe email confirmation. You must print the PDF (using a printer) and bring your ticket with you to board the train.

  The second type of e-tickets are those that are individually emailed to you. You must print the email (using a printer) and bring it with you to board the train – this is your train ticket. Each ticket will be in a separate email, so if you booked more than one ticket, please be sure you print all tickets that were emailed to you.

  The last type of e-tickets are those which have a unique e-ticket confirmation code that is printed on your Rail Europe confirmation email. You must provide the e-ticket confirmation code along with your id to the conductor on board the train.

  Next, Print at the station e-tickets!
  You will receive a 6 or 8 alpha-numeric e-ticket confirmation code (also known as a PNR or Passenger Name Record) in your Rail Europe confirmation email, which you then enter into a self-service kiosk at the train station in Europe to print out your actual train ticket.

  Use this e-ticket confirmation code at a self-service kiosk at the train station to retrieve your ticket. Not all rail lines offer these e-ticket options. Once you have selected a ticket on our website, you’ll be able to choose from its available methods of issuance at checkout.

• Q. What should I do if I’m unable to print my e-ticket at the station?

  A. First, make sure you’re entering the correct information in the self-service kiosk. You need to provide your e-ticket confirmation code, also known as PNR, which is a 6 character letter code (or an 8 character alphanumeric code for British e-tickets) that appears on your Rail Europe booking confirmation email. Any other booking reference (like the Rail Europe booking number) will not work to retrieve your print at station e-ticket.

  Don’t attempt to retrieve your ticket using a different method of identification such as swiping a credit card. This will not work.

  Although highly unusual, if you’re still unable to retrieve your ticket, go to the ticket counter and seek the assistance of a railway official. Make sure you know your e-ticket number.

  If you’re still unable to retrieve your ticket, you may have to purchase a new train ticket. If possible, document the circumstances that prevented you from retrieving your e-ticket. If you purchase new tickets, make sure to keep a copy of the new tickets and the receipt.

  Upon your return home, contact our customer relations department and write us a letter indicating what happened. Make sure to provide the new tickets you purchased and the receipt. We’ll review the matter and work things out with you.

• Q. How can I subscribe to or unsubscribe from your e newsletter?

  A. You can subscribe or unsubscribe from our e-newsletter at any time from your Rail Europe online account page. You will also find newsletter signup forms throughout our site, just enter your email address to begin receiving tips, deals, and offers in your inbox!

  To unsubscribe, you can simply click the unsubscribe link found at the footer of our e-newsletter. This will unsubscribe you immediately.

• Q. Can I use more than one credit card to pay for my booking?

  A. Yes. You can enter up to 10 different credit cards for a single purchase. At the time of payment, use the “Add additional card” button to display all credit card options. After entering each credit card’s information, you can modify the amount to be charged to each individual card. You’ll need to make sure that the total charged for all credit cards matches the total of your booking.

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