If you’re going to Sicily, as with most of Italy, I would highly recommend that you rent a car, there are just so many places to see that are outside of the cities. However, if you want to take the train in Sicily, it’s an easy process and a very good way to get into the larger cities without having to deal with parking or ZTLs. While in Sicily, we were staying in the mountains near Carini. When we wanted to visit Palermo, it was easy to park at the train station then take the train right into the city.
Bottom Line: Riding the Trenitalia train in Sicily is pretty much the same as in the rest of Italy. The only exception is that Sicily doesn’t have any high speed trails, the fastest trains here on Sicily are considered regional trains.
In This Guide
Train Station Parking
Most train stations in Italy have a small parking area. This can be very convenient for getting into larger cities. If you have a car and are staying in the country side, you can drive to a small train station, park, and use the train to get right into the the center of the city. We did exactly that when visiting Sicily and taking a day trip into Palermo.
Buying Trenitalia Tickets
For regional Trenitalia trains in Italy and Sicily you can buy tickets in the train stations using the ticket machines. There’s also an app you can use, but I think just using the machines is easier. The ticket machines have an English option and accept credit cards. You simply choose the route you want to take, select the quantity, then purchase the tickets.
Just don’t forget to validate the tickets before heading to the platform. This is done with the machine next to the ticket machine. You insert the ticket and it stamps the time and station.
Boarding Trenitalia Regional Trains
Like at any train station, you need to find the correct platform. This is really easy at most small train stations in Sicily. This station only has 3 platforms and are all well marked with the arriving and departing trains.
When the train arrives it will stop in the platform. The doors of the train will not always open automatically, there’s a button inside and outside on the door that will flash, press it to open the door. Seats are not assigned on these trains, there’s no need to get into a particular car, any one with seats is just fine.
Trenitalia Regional Train Seats and Comfort
Onboard the trains, you can take any empty seat. These are all the same class of service. The seats face both forward and backward, choose whatever you prefer.
Overhead there is lots of space for luggage and bags. Most of the people on the train are not carrying lots of bags like a long distance train would have. These are mostly for commuters rather than long distance travel.
Trenitalia Regional Train Seat Features
Every seat is sold as second class. Like most trains, the seats are pretty comfortable with enough leg room.
A nice feature on these trains are the charging points at each seat. No USB ports though.
Palermo Central Station
Palermo Central Station is one of the largest and most important train stations in Sicily. There are 10 platforms that service 4 different lines. From here you can travel to most of Sicily on the Trenitalia network.
Trenitalia Regional Train Sicily Final Thoughts
Sicily doesn’t have any high speed trains but does have a decently robust network of regional trains. If you’re visiting Sicily, and don’t want to deal with driving into the cities, using the train is a fast and easy way to arrive.
You can buy tickets at the train stations or on the Trenitalia app, but I think using the ticket machines in the stations is the easiest. When you have a ticket, make sure you validate it in the separate validation machine. The trains run very regularly and keep somewhat good time. They are no less on time that other trains in Italy.
Seating is first come first serve, there are no assigned seats on regional trains in Italy or Sicily. All tickets are 2nd class and there is no 1st class offered. The seats are comfortable and many trains offer in seat power to charge your devices. I like traveling via train and in Sicily it’s a nice option.