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Trains and bicycles in Italy
I'm planning a trip next month to the Tuscany region. I'll be touring
with a Tandem and was trying to get information from someone who's had experience riding the trains in Italy with a bicycle. Are they any issues or gotchas I need to know before I get there. I want to make sure I can get the bike on the train. I'll only need to take the train from the airport to the start and from the end of my trip back to the airport. Any input is greatly appreciated Thanks Joe |
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If you're flying to Pisa you won't need to take the train as the airport is
only one mile from the city centre, believe it or not. Generally I heard from other cyclists when I was cycling in Italy, that the trains are very bike friendly. Tandem friendly, I don't know. |
#3
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For some time I've been collecting information on user experiences taking
bikes on planes, trains, buses, boats, etc. There's lots of stuff on rentals, folding bikes, boxing, airlines, and railroads around the world and how to ride in/out of about 120 airports. I've added a whole section to the site on flying with bikes since 9-11. See it at http://www.BikeAccess.net "JMG" wrote in message om... I'm planning a trip next month to the Tuscany region. I'll be touring with a Tandem and was trying to get information from someone who's had experience riding the trains in Italy with a bicycle. Are they any issues or gotchas I need to know before I get there. I want to make sure I can get the bike on the train. I'll only need to take the train from the airport to the start and from the end of my trip back to the airport. Any input is greatly appreciated Thanks Joe |
#4
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(JMG) wrote in message . com...
I'm planning a trip next month to the Tuscany region. I'll be touring with a Tandem and was trying to get information from someone who's had experience riding the trains in Italy with a bicycle. Are they any issues or gotchas I need to know before I get there. I want to make sure I can get the bike on the train. I'll only need to take the train from the airport to the start and from the end of my trip back to the airport. Any input is greatly appreciated If you search back just two weeks in the archives of this group there was a thread on this topic then; here is a link to that thread: http://tinyurl.com/5laqm. In a nutshell, trains are allowed on many of the slower, more local trains. Bikes are not allowed on most of the faster trains. Have not tried with a tandem, and have never seen one on a train so not sure how that works. Some trains have hooks to hang bikes, and I am certain that no tandem will fit; there is only about a foot clearance from the lower wheel to the floor when hanging my touring bike. One potential source of agony: most stations have multiple platforms and at-grade crossing between platforms is not permitted. You need to take you use the 'sotto passagio', a below ground tunnel to move between platforms, and access to the tunnel is via stairs - no elevators. So you will be carrying your bike down then up steep stairs most every time you need to get to a train or from train back to the station. Painful enough with a half bike. Enjoy the trip; Tuscany is great, esp when you get off the main roads. - rick |
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Joe,
The hard part is knowing (while still in the States) if the train you want will accept your bike. A general rule: the smaller/more local the train, the more likely it is to have a designated place for a bike. You can get this info from each station's yellow departure timetable--a bike symbol on the timetable entry indicates that the train accepts bikes and usually has a car with a designated car. The blue bike symbol appears on the outside of the car, and the trick is then making sure you're standing where the bike car stops. This info is usually shown on a platform display of the composition of each train. In Tuscany, trains are surprisingly scarce. For instance, you can't tour the hill towns by train (of course, we don't want to go by train--that's why we take our bikes), so it sounds like you'll be more concerned with long hops between major cities. I have a very detailed Italian timetable book at home, and I'd be happy to give you the info therein if you send me an e-mail with departure and arrival dates (and times, if you can narrow it down) and cities. While it's a couple years old, most of the info is still applicable, including the bike-specific info. You can get timetable info at www.trenitalia.com, but I don't think there's much bike info there. You can also check raileurope.com or call them--they might be able to get more detailed info than what's available online. Cheers, Eric Lawrence, KS |
#6
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Eric Struckhoff wrote:
Joe, The hard part is knowing (while still in the States) if the train you want will accept your bike. A general rule: the smaller/more local the train, the more likely it is to have a designated place for a bike. You can get this info from each station's yellow departure timetable--a bike symbol on the timetable entry indicates that the train accepts bikes and usually has a car with a designated car. The blue bike symbol appears on the outside of the car, and the trick is then making sure you're standing where the bike car stops. This info is usually shown on a platform display of the composition of each train. In Tuscany, trains are surprisingly scarce. For instance, you can't tour the hill towns by train (of course, we don't want to go by train--that's why we take our bikes), so it sounds like you'll be more concerned with long hops between major cities. I have a very detailed Italian timetable book at home, and I'd be happy to give you the info therein if you send me an e-mail with departure and arrival dates (and times, if you can narrow it down) and cities. While it's a couple years old, most of the info is still applicable, including the bike-specific info. You can get timetable info at www.trenitalia.com, but I don't think there's much bike info there. You can also check raileurope.com or call them--they might be able to get more detailed info than what's available online. Cheers, Eric Lawrence, KS I find that the German Deutsches Bahn site has always had the best info - even for other countries. http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en -- ***************************** Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO http://www.CycleTourist.com Integrity is obvious. The lack of it is common. ***************************** |
#7
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Chuck Anderson wrote in message news:7Fn2d.203008$mD.118742@attbi_s02...
I find that the German Deutsches Bahn site has always had the best info - even for other countries. http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en Wow, nice site! They even have a check box for bike carriage required on the front page of the ticket search. That narrows things down in a hurry. Eric |
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