Stazione di Bologna Centrale

Some harsh reviews here! The station is ok better than many I've passed through. It's fairly central too so you can walk to the city center in just 15-20 minutes. The lines for tickets can be quite long , depending on time of day etc. Find out which Train company is relavent to your travel plans before getting in line!

After the Bologna Massacre I’m always uneasy about a transfer there. It has always been chaotic, causing worries about being able to make it to your train. Their renovation put long distance trains (Frecciarossa for example) under ground. It’s a long arduous walk through infinite stairs and escalators to those platforms. I felt bad for the passengers with heavy luggage. It was not easy for us with our light carryons. The all-concrete underground platforms were claustrophobic and downright spooky. There were no benches to sit on. I’m rethinking traveling through this hub in the future.

If you don’t know the station, arrive an hour early. The way finding in this station is terrible, when arriving by road and you don’t know the layout of the station you have to navigate a busy and poorly signed arrival hall before choosing a direction and trying to find your platform. When arriving by rail and transferring between trains you may need to move between the levels of the station which is really unclear from the lower level. Whilst the physical design of this station doesn’t help, a proper way finding and signage strategy would go along way in fixing the problem. Disability access is near impossible, due to the lack of ascensori, odd location and inconvenience of the lifts within the station.

Nothing is correctly indicated. They have multiple platforms with the same number, which is truly bizarre. Every other bad review is spot on. Tip: arrive an hour early to look for your platform, so that you don't miss your train.

Unhelpful, long wait at ticket station, then I ask for the earliest ticket to Rome the guy starts joking about with me whilst I'm in a rush and so many people are waiting. His English wasn't great but somewhat understandable. After a while he looks at my ID and starts reading my name out loud, tells me its in 25 mins and they only accept cash. I thought he was joking as they had card machines and previously I paid by card at the station. Anyhow he tells me that I need to go and get cash 100 meters away. On the way to find the cash point someone tells me that there is a cash machine at the station, leaving me wondering why he sent me off, so I miss my train by the time I come back. I go to buy the ticket again with another staff. I ask for the earliest train and they sell me a ticket for a train that's 30 mins delayed without telling me. I go to the platform 19 and after awhile a train arrives on the platform display it was showing platform 19 for Rome but when I get on the train halfway they tell me I am on a wrong train and ended up paying again. I don't understand why I was sold a ticket for a train that was delayed when there was another train available and the lack information and staff at the platform. The platform display is outdated from the 90's and make sure you check train number. Thanks Bologna. 120 euros just to go to Rome. Worst experience in Italy.

Because the numbering of the platforms have been confusing I missed the train from Bologna to Cattolica. I had to take platform 6 but I took the wrong platform 6. Later I found out that there is a platform 6 and a platform 6 west. Why not to use a better numbering? Platform 6 west could be changed to platform 26, for instance. I suppose there are also other platform pairs with same numbers. The good thing was that the staff people there have been very friendly and helped me to get a later train. Also I like the Italian trains.

Bologna Centrale station is a very busy train station connecting trains that goes southern italy and northern italy with most facilities to European standard and covid19 prevention contactless ticketing office and all other facilities

This is my second visit to the train station. This is their main train station and very important. It is now five o'clock in the morning. People have to be kept there for one to two hours. More than a hundred people, with a family, every man now has a problem with the toilet is closed there. Lack of toilet is a big problem for girls