Originally Posted by
AlicorporateUK
The most annoying thing is the lack of validating machines (mostly because they get vandalised at all times) at minor stations. I remember once travelling from a town in Abruzzo to Rome Tiburtina (what a nightmare of trip, by the way - if it wasn't for the astonishing sceneries I would have been dead by now) with a blank ticket i.e. without any date or time as I could not print it on the relevant machine. The train officer came at some point and wanted to fine me! After quite a long discussion in my broken Italian, he then walked off saying "Same old excuse" or something like that - how rude!
Just to give an example that can be useful to travellers: most of the FR1 - the line from FCO - stations have no ticket machines, no fare gates, no kiosks, no staff, no connection to some Trenitalia office for special assistance requests and emergency, no CCTV and other security measures, no real time information screen, no wifi. Just 4 walls and a roof and the platforms - unless it's a 'fermata' and in that case you don't have even the roof. From time to time a train showing up.
Validating machines? It's 2011, come on, still paper tickets and validating machines stamping paper tickets?