Rail fares lower in person

I read the subscriber’s letter “Venice to Munich by Train” (Aug. ’09, pg. 40) lamenting the fact that, for a first-class DB Bahn rail ticket from Bolzano to Munich, she paid €93 by ordering it while in the US instead of getting it in Italy for €75.

For people leaving from Italy, I found a bargain train fare called “Smart Fare” (aka “Smart Price”) offered by Trenitalia (www.trenitalia.it). I used it in May ’08 and paid only €29 to go from Milano all the way to Geneva, Switzerland, on a Eurostar second-class ticket, reserved seat. I bought that ticket from an agent at the Rome Stazione Termini, not online or from a ticket machine.

Trenitalia also offers a “Smart Price” ticket from Bolzano to Munich. If the subscriber were willing to travel second class, she, too, might have paid only €29.

JON LAFLEUR

Kent, CT

The Trenitalia website indicates that, for payments made online, only Italian credit cards are accepted.