Earlier today I came across an interesting article which presents statistical information compiled during all of 2016 on the question "how many days in advance can one find the best discounted fares for Trenitalia reserved trains?"
The unverified data is presented in table format, highlighting average fares for second class seats on eight high-density Italian rail routes, when tickets are purchased for same-day travel as well as with an advance purchase of 1 - 7 - 14 - 21 - 30 days beforehand. You will note that discounts range anywhere from about 33% to 50%. In point of fact, promotional fares can exceed 50% on some routes if tickets are purchased even more in advance (but never to exceed four months). Moreover, discounted fares for the slower Trenitalia Intercity and Frecciabianca trains can be particularly advantageous, in some cases as low as only 9.90 Euros.
The statistical analysis concerns only the Trenitalia fastest reserved trains, not Trenitalia unreserved regionale trains (where there is no discount for an advance purchase), nor trains operated by arch rival Italo Treno.
http://www.goeuro.it/fornitori_di_treni/trenitalia (scroll down to the heading "Quando conviene prenotare un biglietto Trenitalia?")
I also hyperlink an article from today's Corriere della Sera internet edition which summarizes the results of this statistical analysis:
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/17_...ia-4ab94488-01ef-11e7-8470-438437665ede.shtml
IMPORTANT OBSERVATION: bear in mind that these discounted tickets are all NON-REFUNDABLE and are also NON-CHANGEABLE if purchased at the Trenitalia Super Economy fare. Moreover, you FORFEIT the ticket if you MISS the reserved train for any reason not pertaining to a connection from another Trenitalia train with an official connection time of at least 15 minutes. Consequently, there is a noteworthy forfeiture risk if the ticket is for same-day travel immediately following arrival by plane (for example, at MXP or FCO airport). In this case, purchasing the discounted ticket in advance in electronic format might make sense if the discount is very significant and if the connection time is conservative. Tickets usually go on sale on the Trenitalia website FOUR MONTHS in advance, although there are times during the year when this is less, because of a forthcoming general schedule change. Children up to age 15 years, 0 days travel at 50% of the adult fare on the reserved trains (including 50% of the discounted adult fare, but never less than 9.90 Euros). Toddlers up to age 4 years, 0 days travel FREE without a ticket and without a guaranteed seat. Trenitalia offers several other promotional fares which should be consulted on its website. These promotional fares usually have significant restrictions on making changes and seeking refunds. Arch rival Italo Treno often bas still lower fares, although its network is much more limited.
www.trenitalia.com
www.italotreno.it
The unverified data is presented in table format, highlighting average fares for second class seats on eight high-density Italian rail routes, when tickets are purchased for same-day travel as well as with an advance purchase of 1 - 7 - 14 - 21 - 30 days beforehand. You will note that discounts range anywhere from about 33% to 50%. In point of fact, promotional fares can exceed 50% on some routes if tickets are purchased even more in advance (but never to exceed four months). Moreover, discounted fares for the slower Trenitalia Intercity and Frecciabianca trains can be particularly advantageous, in some cases as low as only 9.90 Euros.
The statistical analysis concerns only the Trenitalia fastest reserved trains, not Trenitalia unreserved regionale trains (where there is no discount for an advance purchase), nor trains operated by arch rival Italo Treno.
http://www.goeuro.it/fornitori_di_treni/trenitalia (scroll down to the heading "Quando conviene prenotare un biglietto Trenitalia?")
I also hyperlink an article from today's Corriere della Sera internet edition which summarizes the results of this statistical analysis:
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/17_...ia-4ab94488-01ef-11e7-8470-438437665ede.shtml
IMPORTANT OBSERVATION: bear in mind that these discounted tickets are all NON-REFUNDABLE and are also NON-CHANGEABLE if purchased at the Trenitalia Super Economy fare. Moreover, you FORFEIT the ticket if you MISS the reserved train for any reason not pertaining to a connection from another Trenitalia train with an official connection time of at least 15 minutes. Consequently, there is a noteworthy forfeiture risk if the ticket is for same-day travel immediately following arrival by plane (for example, at MXP or FCO airport). In this case, purchasing the discounted ticket in advance in electronic format might make sense if the discount is very significant and if the connection time is conservative. Tickets usually go on sale on the Trenitalia website FOUR MONTHS in advance, although there are times during the year when this is less, because of a forthcoming general schedule change. Children up to age 15 years, 0 days travel at 50% of the adult fare on the reserved trains (including 50% of the discounted adult fare, but never less than 9.90 Euros). Toddlers up to age 4 years, 0 days travel FREE without a ticket and without a guaranteed seat. Trenitalia offers several other promotional fares which should be consulted on its website. These promotional fares usually have significant restrictions on making changes and seeking refunds. Arch rival Italo Treno often bas still lower fares, although its network is much more limited.
www.trenitalia.com
www.italotreno.it
