Roads in Italy - Railways

Railways

Main article: Rail transport in Italy See also: List of railway companies, List of town tramway systems in Italy, and List of trolleybus systems in Italy

Italian railway system has a length of 19,394 km (12,051 mi), of which 18,071 km (11,229 mi) standard gauge and 11,322 km (7,035 mi) electrified. The narrow gauge tracks are:

• 112 km (70 mi) of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄₈ in) gauge (all electrified);
• 1,211 km (752 mi) of 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄₈ in) gauge (of which 153 km (95 mi) electrified)

Most of the Italian rail network is managed and operated by Ferrovie dello Stato, a state owned company. Other railway companies, mostly owned by public entities such as Regions, operate on the Italian network, generally on regional services.

Travelers who will be using the railway often during their stay in Italy might use Rail Passes, some of them can be used also in other European countries. With these passes, options are available for the number of days travelers will be using the pass within a two month period. There are also saver passes for adults who will always be traveling together during their trip, which can save up to 20% on the passes. Foreign travelers should purchase these passes far enough in advance to allow for shipping to a home address before traveling to Italy. When using these passes dates need to be filled in for the day they are being used before boarding the trains. High speed trains require seat reservations which can be obtained at the ticket offices. Regional trains, however, do not require seat reservations and a properly filled out rail pass will suffice as a ticket.