Rome’s central train station is the Stazione Termini. Trains depart from the Termini to other Italian cities and other European countries, as well as some smaller Italian towns, on a regular basis. According to Lonely Plant’s guide to Rome, the station also has shops, ATMs, a lost luggage department, a tourist office and a hotel reservation service.
The Leonardo Express is the only train that departs from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to the Termini station. According to Frommer's, it takes thirty minutes and operates between the hours of 6:36 a.m. and 11:36 p.m. One-way tickets cost about $15 as of 2010 and can be purchased at vending machines or in person.
According to Lonely Planet’s guide to Rome, the Roman metro system, known as the Metropolitania, has two central lines, the A line and the B line. These lines intersect at the Roma Termini, which is the only place in the city where it is possible to transfer from the A line to the B line. Trains run from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. every day except Saturday, when they continue to run until 12:30 a.m. Trains arrive and depart at five- to ten-minute intervals. Metro tickets are available for purchase in newsstands and vending machines. Metro stations are identifiable by following the illuminated "M" symbols that designate metro stops throughout the city.
Intercity and Intercity Plus trains run from Rome’s central Termini to other major Italian cities. According to the World Travel Guide, travel to other cities on the Intercity or Intercity Plus trains takes an average of six hours. Tickets can be purchased for a particular destination and applied to any Intercity train leaving for that destination, giving travelers a certain degree of flexibility. Tickets are available online, by phone or at vending machines that are located throughout the city.
Eurostar (also known as Eurail) trains run from Rome's Termini station to other major Italian cities but take an average of two hours and cost 20 percent more than Intercity trains, according to the World Travel Guide. Tickets for Eurostar trains are purchased for a set destination at a set time and will incur a rebooking fee should the train be missed. Tickets and passes for Eurostar are purchased online, over the phone or in person at the station.
Should you wish to travel from Rome to more than one Italian city, it might be wise to consider purchasing a pass. According to Frommer's, Trenitalia offers passes for all of Italy that are good for four to ten days of unlimited travel between Italian cities and cost between $248 and $347 as of 2010. When traveling within Rome, particularly on the metro, it is important to take precautions, as the city is known for its pickpockets.
