Using smartphone train ticket in Italy

Question

Is it legal to use electronic tickets from a third party app (e.g. "trainline") in a train operated by Trenitalia? I don't want to print the tickets.

Answer 1

It depends on the type of ticket you have bought. From the Trainline's Terms and conditions

Print-Your-Own tickets

Print-Your-Own tickets must be printed clearly on A4 paper and taken with you when you travel. If these tickets aren’t printed, they’re not valid and you won’t be able to use the excuse that your printer’s ink ran dry or your dog ate them.

If your Print-Your-Own tickets have your name on them, you must carry an ID matching the same name, otherwise your tickets won’t be valid. Some operators apply restrictions to Print-Your-Own tickets and you must read these during our booking process.

Mobile Tickets

Mobile Tickets aren’t available on all devices or routes, so before you book make sure your device is compatible. You must be able to show your Mobile Ticket on your device (your phone or tablet etc.), so it can be clearly read and you may need to activate your Mobile Ticket before boarding the train, coach or bus to make it valid. If Mobile Tickets have been booked for more than one passenger, then all passengers must travel together.

etickets

etickets are emailed as a PDF attachment to you, meaning you’ll need a mobile device that can open PDFs and has internet access to receive the email. You can use them in one of the following ways –

• Open the PDF attachment and show the ticket on your mobile device.
• Print the eticket.
• Download the eticket on our app.
• Download and show the eticket in your Apple Wallet if you are using an Apple Wallet enabled Apple device – there’ll be a live link in the email we send you.

An eticket can only be used by one customer for one valid journey and it’s a criminal offence to amend and/or reproduce an eticket for fraudulent use. If two passengers show the same eticket for travel, they’ll could both be treated as invalid. You’re responsible for any fraudulent use of your eticket.

Smartcard

For some bookings you can have your ticket delivered to your Smartcard. If you’re using an existing Smartcard, you must make sure you enter the correct reference number as we can’t change this once payment’s been taken. You must carry your Smartcard with you when you travel and make sure you validate it at the start and end of your journey by using the ticket barriers.

For more information on the ticket types, we recommend you read the terms and conditions for the operator you’ll be travelling with.