How to board a train at Roma Termini

If you’re staying in Rome, it’s easy and convenient to decide to continue your exploration of Italy by taking a train to another well-known city (or a picturesque small town!). It just so happens that the main train station in Italy is in Rome, and with a train leaving every few minutes, it’s tempting to make the most of the local rail network for a day trip or more.

However, while most of us are used to getting on and off the train just to get to work, this is not the case for so many foreign visitors to Italy who have never traveled by train before. For this reason, we have come up with an article that explains the basics of boarding a train at the station closest to the apartments in our portfolio!

This post is specific to boarding the train at Roma Termini, but if you leave out the details about the layout there, what we describe applies to any station in the country. The size of the station may vary, or there may not be security to check your ticket before you board, but the bulk of the process is the same.

Read on, then!

Given a large enough city, any train station in Italy (or really anywhere in the world) will be called the name of that city, followed by the neighborhood or area it is closest to: Roma Termini, Napoli Mergellina, Firenze Rifredi, and so on and so forth. Contrary to popular belief, “Termini” doesn’t mean that all trains end here (“terminus”): although it looks like they do (but more on that later!), the station got its name from the ancient Baths of Diocletian (“Thermae” in Latin), which are located across the large square in front of the station itself.

The station dates back to 1868, although its current external appearance is from the late 1940s. It has several entrances, some of them underground. The main one is in Piazza dei Cinquecento, but two equally important entrances are in Via Giuseppe Giolitti and Via Marsala. There are other access points along these two streets, and they can come in handy if you can’t make it to the main ones (say, you’re in a rush…).

The train station at Termini has three big concourses, three mezzanine levels and an underground level. For the sake of navigation, suffice to say that the underground level is the one you’ll mostly be walking through if accessing the station from the subway lines (A or B) that intersect at Roma Termini. The mezzanine levels are only useful to you as a tourist for doing some shopping or grabbing a bite to eat. The three concourses also have shops, restaurants and cafes. The one closest to the exit on Piazza dei Cinquencento features two ticket offices (one for Trenitalia-operated trains, one for Italo-operated trains) and several ticket machines. The concourse that’s, conversely, further away from Piazza dei Cinquecento (AKA the departure hall) is the one where the different platforms also are located. 

Think of Roma Termini as essentially a shopping mall with a view of the trains: you can shop (yes, even for groceries), pick up a lunch to go or have a quick meal, or simply board your ride. Italians can even get to be visited by a doctor here (San Raffaele is the name of a popular private practice located on one of the mezzanines).

To sum up, it’s up to you, depending on what you want to do before boarding the train, or if you already have your ticket. For those who do and are not interested in exploring the station, its food courts, or its shops, we recommend getting there 20 minutes before departure to find your platform and get through security. For everyone else, 1 hour should be enough!

Roma Termini has 32 platforms, but only platforms 1 to 24 are located in the main departure hall. The station also has two platforms located in “Piazzale Est”, accessible at the very end of platform 1, which are mainly used to connect Rome with the Umbria region, and 4 additional platforms numbered 25 to 29, accessible at the end of platform 24, which connect Rome with the coast north of Rome (e.g. Civitavecchia). Platforms 25 to 29 can be reached quickly by entering the station from Via Giovanni Giolitti, while Piazzale Est can also be reached from the side entrances on Via Marsala.

In the concourse that is closest to the exit on Piazza dei Cinquecento, you’ll find physical ticket offices as well as ticket machines for both main train operators: Trenitalia and Italotreno (AKA “Italo”). If you have issues buying tickets online from each provider’s dedicated apps, say because you have issues with internet on your phone, ticket offices are the way to go. Employees there speak English, too.

Ticket machines are multilingual, but sometimes they can be swarmed by pickpockets or beggars: they say they want to help, but they obviously have ulterior motives. The trick is not to engage and to act as if they do not exist. If you can’t, hold on to your luggage and walk away. If possible, alert security, as they are always making the rounds in the station. Keep in mind that actual personnel from either company who actually want to help will be wearing a uniform or otherwise will be easily identifiable.

A detailed description of the different types of tickets that can be purchased for rail travel in Italy is beyond the scope of this article, but in very general terms, tickets for trains with a mandatory reservation (e.g., all Italotreno trains, all “Frecce” type trains operated by Trenitalia) do not need to be validated. An electronic ticket for a high-speed train does not need to be validated either. If you have a different type of tickets than the ones we have briefly described here, the validation procedure is shown in the video above.

Your ticket lists the city of departure and arrival, the number and type of train, and, for trains with mandatory reservations, your seat number. Throughout the station, in the various concourses, there are huge departure and arrival screens, not unlike those seen in airports. There are different screens for departures and arrivals. For departures in particular, look for the word “PARTENZE” and remember that the cities listed there may not be the same as the one you’re going to, because sometimes the train ends its route somewhere other than your specific destination. That’s right, the screens will show the final destination. So how do you find your platform?

Going back to the ticket, you’ll see a unique number that identifies your train, for example FRECCIAROSSA 9311. Look for this number on the screen: you’ll see a platform assigned to that same unique number. If you can’t see your train, try again in a few minutes: it means you’re early!

The security barriers at Roma Termini are a recent invention, designed in part to keep pickpockets and scammers away. Because you only need to show a valid ticket/scan the QR code on it to pass through the security, some of them can still get through, so be extra vigilant when approaching your train, and even on board before the train departs. The whole security process takes a few seconds, a little longer if there’s a queue.

All trains coming into Roma Termini will be making a proper stop at the station – because after all the station is a terminus. This means that, unlike most other train stations in Italy, you don’t have to rush to the doors of the train to get on board and find your seat – have people leave, then you can board. Every train will stop for at least 15 minutes before departing again.

Please keep in mind that high-speed trains (i.e., the ones which you are most likely to board while in Italy), have assigned seating like planes, and overhead space for luggage, exactly like those. Depending on the type of ticket you have bought, you may even meet an assistant coming to greet you with a free snack. However, the similarities tend to end there. What this means to you is your baggage is your responsibility, and you will have to be the one to stow it. Because it’s your responsibility, put it where you can see it at all times or stow it in a secure way (some trains have padlocks you can attach your suitcases to). We say this because luggage thefts by people pretending to be fellow commuters are not at all uncommon.

Also, don’t take someone else’s seat before departure, or only if you’re sure it won’t be used at another station. If you need a snack, there are usually vending machines at certain points on the train or manned counters with basic refreshments. Wi-Fi is widely available for free, but service tends to be spotty on account of the many galleries. Finally, remember the basic rules of train travel etiquette: no loud music or other forms of entertainment, watch the tone of your voice, do not put your feet up on the opposite seat – common sense is key!

Please note that this guide is not meant to be comprehensive, but wants to give you a general overview of what’s to be expected if it’s your first time traveling with a train in Italy. Some of the things we listed may feel way too obvious, while we may have skipped on details that we feel are widely known. Ultimately, experience is knowledge and we encourage you to travel by train while holidaying here: it’s the easiest, most convenient way to explore our country!