Sala Blu is the free station-assistance service coordinated by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility. It can arrange help getting through the station, boarding or leaving a train, using a wheelchair or boarding lift, making a connection, and carrying one piece of hand luggage. You do not need to be a wheelchair user to qualify.
Sala Blu assistance in Italy is available at more than 380 stations, but the important part is arranging it for the specific stations and trains on your journey. Do not assume that seeing an accessible symbol on a train ticket automatically creates a station-assistance booking.
What Sala Blu actually is
The name can be slightly misleading. A Sala Blu, literally “Blue Room,” may be a physical office in a major station, but RFI also uses the name for the wider assistance network.
There are 15 territorial Sala Blu offices in major stations plus a National Sala Blu office that operates through telephone and online channels. Those offices coordinate assistance across a much larger network of stations, including many places that do not have their own walk-in Blue Room.
The service is provided by RFI, the infrastructure and station manager. Trenitalia and Italo operate trains, while RFI staff normally handle the station-side assistance needed to reach, board or leave them.
RFI’s official Sala Blu information page has the current booking procedures, telephone numbers and office locations.
Who can request assistance
The service is not restricted to passengers with a permanent physical disability. RFI lists several categories of passengers who may request support, including:
- wheelchair users;
- people who have difficulty walking or problems affecting their limbs, including temporary problems;
- people with visual impairments;
- people with hearing or communication impairments;
- elderly passengers;
- pregnant passengers;
- people with mental or intellectual disabilities.
You therefore do not need to arrive with a wheelchair, disability card or visible impairment before asking what assistance is available for your journey.
There is an important distinction for passengers who cannot travel independently. RFI states that provision of the service may be conditional on having a personal assistant or companion when the traveler is not self-sufficient. Sala Blu staff provide railway assistance, not continuous personal care throughout the journey.
What the assistance can include
The exact arrangement depends on what you request when booking. RFI’s service can include:
- meeting you at the agreed point inside the station;
- accompanying you through the station;
- helping you reach a ticket collection point if necessary;
- taking you to the train and your assigned seat;
- meeting you at your seat when your train arrives;
- accompanying you to the station exit;
- taking you to your connecting train;
- providing an RFI wheelchair for movement within the station, when requested;
- using a platform lift or mobile ramp for wheelchair boarding and alighting;
- carrying one piece of hand luggage, if requested.
That final point catches travelers out. The service is not a general porter service for several suitcases. If you cannot manage your luggage independently, say exactly what you are carrying when arranging the trip and confirm what assistance can be provided.
How to book the service
The safest sequence is to identify your train, check that every station involved belongs to the assistance network, and then arrange the required support before traveling.
- Check the stations. Use RFI’s station-by-station assistance list. Do not check only your departure station. Your destination and every interchange matter too.
- Choose the train carefully. Wheelchair users in particular need a train and coach compatible with their requirements.
- Request assistance. You can use SalaBlu Online, the SalaBlu+ app, telephone, email, your train operator’s assistance channel, or a physical Sala Blu office.
- Wait for confirmation. Sending an email or online request is not the same thing as having a confirmed assistance booking.
- Keep the journey details accessible. Save the train numbers, times, booking confirmation and contact number somewhere you can reach without unpacking your luggage.
The RFI telephone numbers are 800 90 60 60 from an Italian landline and +39 02 32 32 32 from mobile phones, landlines and abroad. The physical offices and telephone booking service operate every day, including Sundays and public holidays, from 06:45 to 21:30.
You can also make requests through SalaBlu Online. The official SalaBlu+ mobile app provides journey and assistance functions as well as station departure and arrival information.
How far in advance do you need to book?
There is no single deadline for every Italian station. RFI distinguishes between Fast stations and standard stations, and the booking channel also matters.
Fast stations
At Fast stations, assistance requested by telephone or in person can normally be booked up to one hour before the train’s departure or arrival when the required service falls between 07:45 and 22:30.
For assistance between 22:31 and 07:44, RFI requires at least 12 hours’ notice.
The Fast category includes the stations containing the main physical Sala Blu offices plus a number of other important hubs, such as Roma Tiburtina, Venezia Mestre, Pisa Centrale, Padova, Palermo Centrale, Torino Porta Susa, Fiumicino Aeroporto and Napoli Afragola. Check RFI’s current list rather than assuming every large station follows the one-hour rule.
Standard stations
At other stations in the assistance network, the telephone and in-person requirement is normally at least 12 working hours before the relevant departure or arrival. For this calculation, RFI’s working hours correspond to Sala Blu opening hours.
If a trip connects a Fast station with a standard station, the more demanding deadline at the standard station still matters. Booking Rome efficiently does not solve the problem if the smaller destination needs substantially more notice.
Email and online requests
Email requests can be submitted up to six hours before departure, while SalaBlu Online and SalaBlu+ allow requests to be sent up to three working hours beforehand. Those submission cutoffs do not cancel the minimum notice required by the stations involved.
In other words, an online form may still accept your request even when there is no longer enough time to organize the service you need. Treat confirmation, not form submission, as the important step.
What information should you give when booking?
Be specific. RFI needs enough information to organize people and equipment at the correct stations. Have these details ready:
- departure and arrival stations;
- every interchange station;
- date of travel;
- train number or combination of trains;
- the assistance you need;
- whether you use your own wheelchair;
- whether you need a boarding lift or ramp;
- whether you need an RFI wheelchair inside the station;
- whether you are traveling with a companion;
- any relevant mobility-device details;
- a telephone number where staff can reach you.
If you are building a multi-city trip, allow these assistance requirements to shape the itinerary rather than bolting them on afterward. The Italy on Foot trip planner can help keep train legs, transfers and overnight stops together while you work out which connections need more breathing room.
Where do you meet the staff at the station?
Use the meeting point stated in your confirmation. Do not assume you should simply search for a blue-colored office when you arrive.
At stations with physical offices, the Sala Blu can be beside a platform or in another part of the passenger concourse. Current examples include the office beside platform 4 at Milano Centrale, platform 5 at Firenze Santa Maria Novella, platform 14 at Venezia Santa Lucia and the platform 1 area at Roma Termini.
At other stations, the agreed meeting point may be somewhere else entirely.
RFI asks passengers with confirmed assistance to report to the meeting point at least 30 minutes before departure. Assistance personnel can be identified by their orange vest carrying the PRM service logo.
Arriving at the station 30 minutes early but spending 20 minutes on the wrong side of a huge terminus defeats the purpose, so check the agreed location before the travel day.
Wheelchair users need to check both the station and the train
An accessible station does not automatically mean every train stopping there can accommodate every wheelchair.
For RFI assistance, a wheelchair should normally be no more than 700 mm wide and 1,200 mm deep, with a maximum combined passenger-and-wheelchair weight of 250 kg. Equipment outside those limits needs to be assessed beforehand.
Passengers remaining in a wheelchair normally need an equipped wheelchair space aboard the train. Boarding may involve an RFI-operated lift or mobile ramp.
A traveler with a folding wheelchair who can transfer to an ordinary seat, independently or with a companion’s assistance, may have more train options. Tell the booking agent that you can transfer rather than allowing staff to assume you require an occupied wheelchair space throughout the journey.
For Trenitalia services, wheelchair spaces are subject to availability and should be coordinated through its reduced-mobility booking channels or RFI. Italo likewise provides dedicated wheelchair positions on its trains and allows passengers to arrange station assistance through Pronto Italo.
For a broader explanation of the different train types, operators and station procedures, see the Italy train travel guide.
Do not book a tight connection
RFI specifies 30 minutes for an interchange involving booked assistance so staff have time to manage leaving the first train, crossing the station and boarding the next one. Shorter transfers can be authorized only exceptionally.
A connection that looks perfectly reasonable to an able-bodied passenger may therefore be unsuitable for an assisted journey.
This matters especially at stations such as Roma Termini, Milano Centrale and Bologna Centrale, where the next train may be several platforms away and the route can involve lifts, long corridors or a change between station levels.
Choose the longer connection when the alternative is a 10 or 15-minute dash. Your ticketing system may happily sell the short itinerary even though the assistance process cannot reliably fit inside it.
Early-morning and late-night trains are possible
The Sala Blu offices themselves close at 21:30 and reopen at 06:45, but that does not mean assistance exists only during those hours. RFI states that booked assistance can be provided around the clock at stations in its network.
The difference is that overnight assistance needs to be arranged earlier. At Fast stations, requests for services between 22:31 and 07:44 require at least 12 hours’ notice. Standard-station rules can require still more planning because their notice period is calculated in working hours.
If your train departs at 06:10, trying to telephone at 05:00 is therefore not a realistic backup plan.
What happens if your train is delayed or canceled?
A confirmed assistance request is tied to a particular journey, including its stations and trains. If your plans change voluntarily, contact Sala Blu and have the assistance arrangement changed as well. RFI applies the normal advance-notice requirements to modifications.
If disruption on the railway makes your booked connection impossible, tell the RFI assistance staff or train operator as soon as you can. Do not simply select another train in an app and assume the boarding lift, wheelchair space or destination assistance will automatically move to the new service.
If nobody appears at the agreed meeting point, first confirm that you are at the correct location and that you arrived at the requested time. During Sala Blu operating hours, call RFI or go to the physical office if one is nearby. You can also approach identifiable RFI or train-company staff.
Do not attempt to improvise with a train doorway, platform gap or boarding ramp because departure time is approaching. If safe boarding cannot be organized, staff need to deal with the journey and ticket consequences rather than putting you at risk.
Check lifts before relying on an independent station route
A station described as accessible can temporarily become much harder to use when a particular lift or ramp is out of service. Platform allocations can also affect which step-free route is available.
RFI maintains an official lift and ramp status service for longer-lasting accessibility changes. It is particularly useful when you intend to travel independently rather than having staff escort you through the station.
For an essential journey, check accessibility again close to departure. A lift shown in hotel-planning research several months earlier is not something to bet a same-day connection on.
Special case: connecting between a train and a flight
RFI offers coordinated train-airport assistance at Fiumicino Aeroporto and the railway station serving Turin Airport. The idea is to hand the passenger between railway and airport assistance teams at an agreed meeting point.
This does not replace the PRM request made to your airline. The railway assistance and airport or airline assistance remain separate bookings that need to be coordinated.
RFI currently specifies a minimum request time of one hour for the coordinated service at Fiumicino and 12 hours at Turin Airport. For a flight connection, build substantially more time into the itinerary than you would for a normal train-to-train transfer.
The mistakes most likely to cause trouble
- Assuming the ticket includes assistance. A train reservation and an RFI assistance reservation are not automatically the same thing.
- Checking only the departure station. The destination and every connection must work too.
- Submitting an online request too late and treating it as confirmed. Wait for confirmation.
- Booking a very short connection. Allow at least the 30 minutes required for an assisted interchange.
- Going to the wrong place in a large station. Follow the meeting point stated in the booking.
- Arriving at normal boarding time. RFI asks assisted passengers to report 30 minutes before departure.
- Bringing several bags and expecting porter service. The standard assistance offer covers one piece of hand luggage on request.
- Changing trains after disruption without updating the assistance arrangement. Staff and boarding equipment may have been assigned specifically to your original service.
- Assuming reduced mobility means wheelchair use. Assistance is available to a considerably wider group of passengers.
The simplest rule is to plan the whole assisted journey as one chain: entrance, meeting point, platform, train, interchange, arrival and exit. When every link has been confirmed, the service removes much of the difficult physical work from an Italian rail journey rather than leaving you to solve it beside the train doors.