ARST

ARST S.p.A. is Sardinia's main public transport operator, based in Cagliari and owned entirely by the regional government. Alongside a large regional bus network and urban buses in towns such as Oristano and Alghero, it runs the island's narrow-gauge rail services, for daily travel and for tourism, plus the metro-tram lines in Cagliari and Sassari. ARST is a separate company from Trenitalia, which runs Sardinia's mainline trains; its own narrow-gauge network centres on Sassari, Macomer and Monserrato.

The four regional lines

ARST operates four passenger rail lines. Sassari-Alghero calls at stations including Molafà, San Giorgio, Arcone, Olmedo and Punta Moro, with the first trains from Sassari around 06:05 and the last around 21:00. Sassari-Sorso is a shorter run through S.M. di Pisa, R.Quadda and Crabulazzi, operating roughly 05:50 to 21:00 from Sassari. Macomer-Nuoro crosses the interior through Birori, Bolotana and Orotelli, running from about 06:00 to 18:55 out of Macomer. Monserrato-Isili, the longest of the four, runs via Mandas and towns such as Dolianova, Senorbì and Gesico, with trains from Monserrato San Gottardo between roughly 06:51 and 19:28. All four lines run newer Stadler trains, introduced in recent years for a quieter ride and better accessibility. Each line allows up to 3 bikes on board, and the endpoint stations plus a small number of intermediate stations are listed as accessible.

Trenino Verde

Separate from the regional lines, ARST also runs the Trenino Verde, a narrow-gauge tourist railway that has linked Sardinia's interior to the coast for more than 130 years. At 438 km across five different routes, it is billed as Europe's longest tourist rail network. Route and timetable detail for it sits on ARST's own dedicated Trenino Verde site rather than the main rail pages.

Cagliari and Sassari metro-tram

ARST also runs metro-tram lines in Cagliari and Sassari, built for getting around each city and reaching its centre rather than for travel between towns.

Tickets

ARST sells ten ticket types, from a single ride and a 12-ride carnet to day, weekly, monthly and annual passes, with discounted student and over-65 fares. Buy through the DropTicket, Tabnet or Around Sardinia apps, at ARST ticket offices, at authorised resellers, or from ticket machines. A mobile ticket has to be validated on boarding and shown through the same app if checked; ARST does not accept screenshots, printed copies of digital passes, or photocopies of paper tickets, and will not replace a lost or destroyed ticket. Boarding a rail service without a ticket adds a €5.00 surcharge, higher than the €0.50 to €1.00 surcharge on buses, unless you boarded at a station with no ticket office, machine or nearby authorised reseller, in which case there is no surcharge. An oversized bike needs either a normal single ticket for the route or a fixed €3.50 bike ticket valid for 24 hours.