In order to make our meetings, and our lives, more sustainable, let’s travel by train to Rome, for ripe87.ripe.net .
We could use this thread to coordinate the train travel. (Thanks to “mrc” for the idea!)
(since it’s not easy to find good deals, time-tables etc).
We could travel together, or meet each other along the way, or any share tips & inspirations.
Hi, yes, it’s me, I’m the problem!
I will be getting to Rome, probably via Florence for another conference ten days before.
OTH, I like will be travelling by Eurostar and TGV and FR to Florence, and then after RIPE87, returning to CDG or AMS to fly home.
The best return time on Friday seems to be around noon, but that’s going to Paris, not Amsterdam. If you want to return on Friday, you’ll miss the day. So that means travelling on Saturday. I have some things to do in paris on Saturday, but I haven’t decided yet.
I am considering some of the routes outlined in Seat61. It should be also possible to make Amsterdam - Rome within one long day.
What bothers me a bit is this first/last mile problem. According to the hotel website, there are nearby:
Subway Station: Eur Magliana (7 - 12 km - noted by me)
Train Station: Muratella (2 - 7 km - noted by me)
Some of the routes do not even have a pavement, so it seems that one is just forced to use some sort of a taxi for every trip in or out of the hotel.
Forget about it - the hotel is in a very remote part of Rome which is not served by public transportation, it is only reachable by car or taxi.
The nearest most reasonable public connection from the city center would be the local train from several central stations (not Termini though) to Muratella; it’s the airport line, so also usable from FCO. However, that would then require over 2 km of walk and especially walking along a motorway interchange roundabout, which is not impossible but quite dangerous.
There is a single bus stop beyond the motorway on the hotel side, “just” 1.2 km from it, and it’s marked for line 771, which in theory could bring you across the motorway for a couple of stops to Muratella; but only half of the transport maps show this stop as active, the others now show the line going elsewhere. So I have no idea if it’s still working, but even in that case it would possibly be once or twice per hour in a totally unpredictable fashion.
Basically, the hotel is designed to trap you there for the entire duration of the conference; you can only use the hotel’s own services (restaurants etc.) or those of the nearby cinema. Everything else will require a very expensive taxi trip to Rome proper, or at least a short taxi trip to Muratella or a slightly longer taxi trip to one of the EUR metro stations - assuming that you can find a taxi, as currently in Rome there is a shortage of licenses (existing taxi drivers oppose releasing new ones, and also blocked the deployment of Uber etc.) so long waits are constantly documented.
Honestly, I was considering whether to join this RIPE meeting, but the location really makes it unappealing… I normally always go to Rome (from Turin) by train, but I’d be tempted to drive 650+650 km just to have a car and get to see a bit of Rome at least for dinner 
But, wait: I read again the hotel’s own page and it says:
“For transportation convenience, the hotel provides a shuttle service to and from Rome’s city centre, allowing guests to easily explore the city’s attractions.”
I have no idea of the price, route and schedule of this service, but perhaps someone can ask the hotel.
last mile problem
Sounds like a reason to bring the bike along! and/or, to rent one in Rome…
In theory yes, I am even considering it, but that doesn’t scale to fellow RIPEers. I had the same experienece in Rotterdam where everybody took the metro while I was the only one on a bike.
Speaking of inspiration: here’s an article by Science & Technology Studies scholars who decided to go to Madrid by train, and documented it too!
Managed to get info on the shuttle from the hotel, it’s not too useful:
——
This is Rome Transfer Agency, official car partners of Sheraton Parco de’ Medici Hotel.
Please find below the requested information:
Note that a one way ticket costs €8,00 for the adults and €6,00 for the children (up to 12 yo);
while a roundtrip ticket costs €15,00 for the adults and €10,00 for the children (up to 12 yo).
Regarding the Airport shuttle, we provide one transfer at 7:00AM that departs from Sheraton Hotel (Building 2) and drops you off at the FCO Airport.
Note that one ticket costs €10,00 per person.
——
I am not sure yet whether I’ll be going, the hotel location does not make it appealing. But if I am, train is my first choice if it’s doable in terms of route.
Woooow…10eur is kind of abuse of (monopolistic) transport situation.