Questions on trains in Italy

A couple of months ago I took Eurostar from Padova (which is 20KM from Venice and on the train line) to Modena, changing in Bologna....as I recall the ticket was $42.00 first class, there was a surcharge (4 Euro?) for a ticket that allowed entrance to a specific Eurostar waiting salon in Bologna.

Returning "prima classe" was booked and I took an evening commuter train from MO to BO, a big mistake as it was SRO and full of kids as well a commuters. BO to Pad was in a first class compartment on a non Eurostar train and I believe that biglietto was around $33.00.

It is my belief that the main trains run more or less on the same schedule 7 days a week. I've never been too concerned about reservations, however trains to fill up quickly if you're traveling on a holiday weekend. Unlike North America Europe / Italy is blessed with a great railroad system and trains are very frequent, as I recall the schedule was every ninty minutes during the day between Pad and BO.

BO is a main interchange point for the two main routes in Northern / Central Italy, the station is rather large (at least by NA standards) and can be very hectic.

As a side note I rented a (new!) Lancia Ypisilon in Modena from National (a 20 minute walk from the stazione and very close to the old SEFAC garage on the viale Trento e Trieste) for $87USD a day, unlimited KM, taxes included. I found this rate on the WWW, save your paperwork as the attendant attempted to charge me $171+! This was the best deal I found...between driving to Sant Agata and Maranello I put nearly 200 KM on the beast in one day.

One can take the municipal bus from the MO stazione to Maranello if you wish to avoid driving.

Hope this helps...

Cheers

Da Flav