Originally Posted by
AtomicLush
I don't know if you've taken trains in Europe before, but I had never until visiting Italy in 2013. And I will never again. Paid lots more money for "first class" just because coach was sold out. It's dirty, smelly, and disgusting. It reminds me of the "L" trains in Chicago but at a much higher premium. Then the train conductor reminded us to keep our wallets hidden and close to your body because your seatmates might try to pick-pocket you. Made me feel very safe.
We ended up getting a car service after that. I was willing to pay whatever they wanted to charge not to experience that train ride again. But to Mr. AtomicLush who has traveled on trains in Europe before didn't seem fazed at all.
Wow. Just not my experience at all. Even when I stumbled onto a regional train instead of the high-speed train I intended to take (and had paid for) several years ago from Rome to Florence. The regional train was certainly not as nice as the high-speed train but was still acceptable--just older, slower, and more rickety. And the conductor was extremely nice when he came around to collect tickets--seeing that I had purchased a ticket for another train from another company and had paid nothing to get on the train I was on. He let me off with a warning (which, with my then-pidgin Italian, I basically understood and appreciated).
I'm not doubting your experience, but I've also ridden on trains in Ireland and Scotland--not Italy but still parts of Europe, with similar results. I'd love to know the route you were on and the operating company--perhaps that is the issue rather than a generalized "I won't take trains in Europe because they all must be as disgusting as the one I was on once."