Disabled and travelling to Rome on Train

[lizboyle]

I am meeting friends in Rome July 4th and had originally booked the Rome on your own tour through the ship as my daughter uses a wheelchair. Having spoken to my friends today they tell me their hotel is only a five minute walk from the termini and advised I get the train, which is also so much cheaper. I believe we would get dropped off near St Peters if we took the tour and that is miles away from their hotel. My question is....how easy is it to travel on the train from Civitavecchia to Rome with a wheelchair? I am not that interested in seeing the sights, merely want to spend time with our friends who are staying in the Hotel Canada.

[HeinBloed]

I am meeting friends in Rome July 4th and had originally booked the Rome on your own tour through the ship as my daughter uses a wheelchair. Having spoken to my friends today they tell me their hotel is only a five minute walk from the termini and advised I get the train, which is also so much cheaper. I believe we would get dropped off near St Peters if we took the tour and that is miles away from their hotel. My question is....how easy is it to travel on the train from Civitavecchia to Rome with a wheelchair? I am not that interested in seeing the sights, merely want to spend time with our friends who are staying in the Hotel Canada.

 

If you take trains which originate and terminate in Civitavecchia it should not be a problem:

 

Mostly they start from 1b and 2b platform which are fully accessible at the station without using stairs.

 

I remember that there was multi-purpose compartments also for wheelchairs on the lower deck of the train.

 

You need to change at least at Hotel de la Ville from the promenade to the station street to avoid stairs.

 

Special assistance for disabled passengers is available in Civitavecchia:

 

Check here:

 

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=28cc11e84819a110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD#10

 

and write them an e-mail.

 

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f08f5767f78ea110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

 

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=da3f11e84819a110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

 

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=fb9011e84819a110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[lizboyle]

Most helpful. Thank you so much.

[somewhere in the sun]

I don't recall there being anything but stairs at the Civitavecchia train station... we had so much luggage if we saw an elevator we certainly would've used it... although we did not do an exhaustive search since we were low on time. That being said, I didn't feel like the trains would be very friendly to a wheelchair. You might be able to make advance reservations to get some help, but I don't know how reliable it is.

 

The train from civ to rome that we were one was on platform 3, which required going under tracks 1 and 2 and back up. It was not fun with luggage and I would never want to do it with a wheelchair.

 

Also, FYI nothing is really 5 minutes from the Termini station, depending on the track you come in on, it can take you at least 5 minutes just to get out of the station.

 

Maybe you want to look into a direct transfer? Also consider that at the pier in civ. you will need to get on the port shuttle bus to get to the front (did not look wheelchair friendly at all) before you can make your way to the train station. On our cruise, we noticed a number of handicapped passengers had book their own transportation that picked them right up outside the dockside terminal which looked much easier.

[lizboyle]

I have been to Civitavecchia before and my daughter managed the shuttle bus to the port gates. I am just worried about the facilities at the train station but will probably email them to ensure everything will be ok. The train is much more convenient for my friends hotel as we would be able to use the facilities there for my daughter rather than having her out in the hot sun all day.

[gipper77]

Can your friends come to you, since the sights are not important to you. That would be easier.

[lizboyle]

They are already flying into Rome specially to see us all the way from NZ. They are on a cruise at the moment in the Med and are doubling back to rome for the day to meet up with us. I think the least we can do is make an effort to see them since they have come all that way.

[GSPLover]

Civitavecchia is not the most handicapped friendly station in Italy. However the Ferrovie dello Stato (Trenitalia) personnel do seem to bend over backwards to help people. They can (you cannot) wheel people from one platform to another. Getting the very early train mean that you have a very high probability of being on track 1. This route uses a lot of the newer cars with entrances that are very near (6-8 inches) to platform height.

 

Before leaving the Civitavecchia station, inquire as to which train you need to be on coming back that will put you on track one, or one of the tronco tracks (similar to 1). They have a master plan (although it changes daily, if not more frequently).

 

The links that HeinBloed provided are excellent. I would email them and hope that you get a response.

[lizboyle]

Thanks GPSLover, I have emailed them, only problem may be the language barrier as I emailed in English. If I don't get a reply I will ask my Italian speaking friend to either call or email them.

[HeinBloed]

Thanks GPSLover, I have emailed them, only problem may be the language barrier as I emailed in English. If I don't get a reply I will ask my Italian speaking friend to either call or email them.

 

When I made a big mistake with my very first purchase of the train tickets I e-mailed them.

 

I get a short response and two days later a credit to my credit card account.

 

I am sure that they can handle your request.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed