Rome metro
Saturday, January 20th, 2007
Rome metro lines
At the moment (January 2007) there are only two metro lines in Rome: line A (or the “red line”) and line B (or the “blue line”). The only point where the two lines cross is in Rome Termini. Two more lines (the “B1”, an extension to line B, and the “C” line) are under construction, and will be so for a while.
The nearest metro stops to the Bed and Breakfast Chaplin Hostel Rome are Castro Pretorio (line B) and Termini (line A and B). The Vittorio Emanuele (line A) stop is the nearest one to the Rome B&B Little Italy Hotel. It is just around the block from the Bed and Breakfast. The Termini and Cavour stops are also within walking distance from the Little Italy.
Line A counts 27 stops. The first and last stops are called Battistini and Anagnina. The Manzoni stop is closed at the moment, for maintenance work. (Walk to the nearest stops, Vittorio Emanuele or San Giovanni, or even the Colosseo stop on line B, or take a bus: lines 360, 590 and 810 have stops near the Manzoni station.)
Line B has 22 stops. The first and last stops are called Rebibbia and Laurentina. On Sundays and public holidays it is possible to take (no more than) one bicycle with you on line B. You have to get an extra ticket for the bicycle unless you have a monthly or yearly public transport pass, in which case it is free. In stations that have a lift, its use is mandatory, otherwise you have to take the stairs. You are not allowed to take your bicycle on the escalators. You can take your bicycle with you on the first carriage.
The Rome metro stations open at 05.30am and the last trains start running at 11.30pm (except on Saturdays, when the last train leaves at 0.30am). At the moment, however, line A is being modernized, so the last train on that line starts running at 9pm. From that time, till 11.30pm line A will be substituted by two bus lines, called MA1 and MA2. The work is supposed to finish in January 2008. The expression “grain of salt” was invented with these and similar Italian deadlines in mind.
Rome metro line A
| Stop | Attractions | Facilities | |
| 1 | Battistini | ||
| 2 | Cornelia | ||
| 3 | Baldo degli Ubaldi | ||
| 4 | Valle Aurelia | ||
| 5 | Cipro - Musei Vaticani | ||
| 6 | Ottaviano | St. Peter, Vatican Museums | |
| 7 | Lepanto | ||
| 8 | Flaminio | Piazza del Popolo | Train to Viterbo |
| 9 | Spagna | Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese | |
| 10 | Barberini | Via Veneto | |
| 11 | Repubblica | Via Nazionale | |
| 12 | Termini | Central Railway Station | Metro Line B, Bus square, Chaplin B&B stop |
| 13 | Vittorio Emanuele | Rome B&B Little Italy stop | |
| 14 | Manzoni | ||
| 15 | San Giovanni | Basilica San Giovanni | bus 218 to Catacombs |
| 16 | Re di Roma | ||
| 17 | Ponte Lungo | ||
| 18 | Furio Camillo | ||
| 19 | Colli Albani | ||
| 20 | Arco di Travertino | ||
| 21 | Porta Furba - Quadraro | ||
| 22 | Numidio Quadrato | ||
| 23 | Lucio Sestio | ||
| 24 | Giulio Agricola | ||
| 25 | Subaugusta | ||
| 26 | Cinecitta | Cinecitta, Shopping Mall | |
| 27 | Anagnina | Coach to Ciampino Airport | |
Rome metro line B
| Stop | Attractions | Facilities | |
| 1 | Rebibbia | ||
| 2 | Ponte Mammolo | bus to Tivoli | |
| 3 | S.M. Soccorso | ||
| 4 | Pietralata | ||
| 5 | M. Tiburtini | ||
| 6 | Quintiliani | ||
| 7 | Tiburtina | Rome’s second railway station, Eurolines stop | |
| 8 | Bologna | ||
| 9 | Policlinico | University La Sapienza | |
| 10 | Castro Pretorio | Chaplin Hostel Rome | |
| 11 | Termini | Chaplin Hostel Rome | |
| 12 | Cavour | St. Peter In Chains | Rome B&B Little Italy |
| 13 | Colosseo | Colosseum, Forum Romanum | |
| 14 | Circo Massimo | Circus Maximus | |
| 15 | Piramide | Train to Ostia Antica & beach, Testaccio area | |
| 16 | Garbatella | ||
| 17 | Basilica San Paolo | St. Paul’s Outside the Walls | Train to Ostia Antica & beach |
| 18 | Marconi | ||
| 19 | Eur Magliana | Train to Ostia Antica & beach | |
| 20 | Eur Palasport | ||
| 21 | Eur Fermi | ||
| 22 | Laurentina | ||
Tickets
The tickets, which can be used on the Rome metro as well as on the buses and trams, can be bought at tobacco shops and newspaper stands. The underground stations also have vending machines, but these are quite often out of order, especially in the smaller stations.
Especially in the case of the normal BIT (see below) 75 minute tickets, it is often better to make sure and always have some tickets with you, since you will not always be able to buy them where you are (vending machines broken, no newspaper stand nearby, too late at night and everything is already closed). They are not considered used until you have validated them anyway, so you theoretically can buy one today, keep it in your wallet for 2 years and use it during your vacation in Rome.
Children younger than 10 do not pay.
You validate your tickets when going through the turnstiles upon entering the metro system. This is more complicated than it sounds. Basically what you need to do is figure out the most logical way of inserting your ticket into the yellow machine and then do the opposite. The ticket will be sucked into the machine. Do not actually go through the turnstiles before your ticket gets spat out at you again. You need to have your ticket with you until the end of the trip. Sometimes there is a random ticket control and fines are steep. You could try playing the dumb tourist game but that does not really work anymore in a city like Rome. Unless you look like Pamela Anderson or Tom Cruise. (In Pamela Anderson’s case this is because she looks like Pamela Anderson and she can get away with anything. In Tom Cruise’s case this is because he looks like Tom Cruise and children younger than 10 do not pay.)
Sometimes the machines are out of order. In that case you write the date, the time, and the name of the station where you boarded on it.
There are several kinds of tickets you can buy, depending on the duration of your stay in Rome:
BIT Can be used for 75 minutes from the moment you validate it, both on the metro (1 ride only, though you are allowed to change stations) and bus or tram (as many as you want to, as long as it is within 75 minutes from the moment you have stamped your ticket). The price is €1,00.
BIG Day pass for public transport (€4,00). Take as many bus or metro rides as you want, within Rome. Note though, that it is not a 24 hour pass. The ticket can only be used till midnight on a specific date.
BTI A – relatively new – 3 day tourist ticket. Similar to the BIG ticket it is not valid for 72 hours, but only till midnight of the third day. Costs € 11,00.
CIS Weekly ticket (€16,00), valid all over Rome for seven days from the moment you validate it.
A monthly ticket (mensile, in Italian) costs 30,00€ and can, till the 5th day of the calendar month, be bought at all the usual places (see above). After that it can only be bought at the ATAC ticket offices. Please note that it is valid for the calendar month, from the first till the last day of the month, and not, for instance from January 20th till February 20th.
Thieves
One of the biggest problem for tourists in Rome is that of the pickpocket army crowding the bus and metro system. If you can, try and avoid the metro during peak hours. Pickpockets usually work in groups of three or even four people. A is the actual pickpocket, B runs off with your wallet and C and D first attract your attention (asking you a question, “accidentally” bumping into you) and then, in case you want to follow the thieves, just as “accidentally” block your way. During rush hour, when the trains are packed, it is very difficult to recognize whether somebody is bumping into you because they are after your possessions, or because they can’t help it since somebody else is bumping into them.
Beware when somebody is standing next to you with a jacket covering their arm while that arm is hovering near your backpack. Always have your backpack in front of you, where you can see it. Wear a money-belt inside your clothes, and tuck in your shirt.
Only 2 metro lines? In a cultural capital like Rome?
The Metropolitana was opened in 1955. Over the years several attempts at building a more extensive network were thwarted, because, wherever the excavations were began, after some digging yet another historical treasure was discovered. Exit diggers, enter historians. Right now an attempt at constructing the C line seems to be seriously underway. Work is supposed to finish in 2010 and there are even plans for line D, which is meant to be up and running by 2018.
You do not look like Pamela Anderson or Tom Cruise.