LA BELLA FIGURA – EXPERIENCE ITALIAN CULTURE Lesson Material – Level 1 Absolute Beginners
Lezione 5 – Unit 5
In Stazione At the Train Station
A common way to travel around Italy is by train. Regional trains connect the small towns of a specific region; they are less fast and may not be very reliable. Intercity trains, which are divided into different categories (eurostar, freccia bianca, freccia argento, freccia rossa), connect the main cities and are usually faster and more reliable. Train tickets have a different prices and different restrictions according to the kind of train they refer to. BUYING A TRAIN TICKET
LA BIGLIETTERIA
IL TRENO REGIONALE INTERCITY/ EUROSTAR (or FRECCIABIANCA/FRECCIARGENTO) FRECCIAROSSA
TRENI A PRENOTAZIONE OBBLIGATORIA
COMMENT This is the place you have to look for it if you want to buy a train ticket. Ticket offices may be closed at certain times of the day, or may be very busy, but in many cities train stations are provided with self-service machines. Train tickets may also be purchased on-line, from the website of the national train company: TRENITALIA. Trains may be: Regional (they connect small cities, might be subject to cancellation and delays, and they require a basic train ticket which has to be validated in a proper validating machine) Intercity, Eurostar or Frecciarossa (they connect only major cities, are more reliable and require a more expensive ticket which includes also the booking of a seat; these train tickets do not need validation) Trains with compulsory booking. Every train that is not a regional train will fit into
PRONUNCIATION NOTES
1
Use this column to mark the pronunciation of the word. Try to match each Italian sound with an equivalent sound in your language. Example (for English speakers): the group of letters sci in Italian is always pronounced/read as the English word she. 1
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