# Bari: 17 minutes from the airport, 4h14 from Rome

> Bari airport handled 7,977,881 passengers in 2025 and a train links it to Bari Centrale in 17 minutes. Rome is 4 hours 14 on the fastest direct train.

URL: https://myitalia.it/towns/bari/getting-there
Last updated: 2026-09-03

Bari is one of the few Italian cities where the airport train stops inside the terminal: 17 minutes to Bari Centrale, from a station open since 2013 and linked to arrivals by a 300 meter tunnel.

## The airport: 7,977,881 passengers, tenth in Italy

Bari Karol Wojtyla (IATA code BRI) handled 7,977,881 passengers in 2025, 9.7% more than in 2024, which puts it tenth in the national ranking. The operator is Aeroporti di Puglia.

Read the growth rate rather than the rank. Nearly ten percent added in a year changes how early you want to be at security in July, and it changes how quickly the cheap seats go on the routes that grew.

## The train inside the terminal, 17 minutes

The Ferrotramviaria service reaches Bari Centrale in 17 minutes from a platform inside the airport, joined to the arrivals hall by a 300 meter walkway. The line has run since 2013, is fully electrified, and also runs direct to Barletta.

At the city end, the Ferrotramviaria station is joined to the state railway station by a pedestrian underpass, so the change onto a Trenitalia train is a walk rather than a taxi ride.

Two numbers are missing here on purpose. Ferrotramviaria does not publish the fare or the service frequency on that page, and the transport pages of aeroportidipuglia.it answer 404 on the main domain and 403 on the subdomain, so nothing could be cross-checked. Buy at the machine and allow for a wait.

## Rome to Bari: 4 hours 14, and only six direct trains

Roma Termini to Bari Centrale takes 4 hours 14 minutes on the fastest direct Frecciarossa, with a median of 4 hours 23 and a slowest direct at 4 hours 41, on the timetable in force in September 2026.

The constraint is not the speed, it is the count. Only 6 direct Frecciarossa ran on the weekday sampled, September 8, 2026, which is a fraction of what the Rome to Florence or Rome to Naples corridors carry.

There is no continuous high speed line on this route. That reading is an inference from the journey times and the small number of services rather than a figure published by the infrastructure manager, so treat it as the shape of the problem and not as a track map.

## Onward to Lecce: 1h41 for €13.20

Bari Centrale to Lecce takes 1 hour 41 to 1 hour 43 on a Regionale Veloce at a base fare of €13.20, and 1 hour 25 on the Frecciarossa at a base fare of €14.90, for a sample date of September 15, 2026.

Sixteen minutes of difference for €1.70 is the kind of arithmetic that makes the regional train the sensible default here, unless the Frecciarossa happens to sit where you want it in the day.

Bari is the hinge for the whole heel: arrive by air, cross to the state station on foot, and Lecce is under two hours away. See [Bari](/towns/bari) and [getting to Lecce](/towns/lecce/getting-there).

## FAQ

### Is there a train from Bari airport to the city?

Yes. A Ferrotramviaria train runs from a station inside the airport to Bari Centrale in 17 minutes. The platform has been there since 2013 and a 300 meter tunnel connects it to arrivals. The same line also runs direct to Barletta.

### How long is the train from Rome to Bari?

4 hours 14 minutes on the fastest direct Frecciarossa, with a median of 4 hours 23 and a slowest direct service at 4 hours 41. Only 6 direct Frecciarossa ran on the weekday sampled, September 8, 2026, so the departure time matters more than usual.

### How busy is Bari airport?

7,977,881 passengers in 2025, up 9.7% on 2024, tenth in Italy. It is run by Aeroporti di Puglia and named after Karol Wojtyla. That growth rate is among the fastest of the large southern airports.

### What does the airport train cost and how often does it run?

Ferrotramviaria does not publish the fare or the frequency on the page we read, so this page carries neither. The airport pages of the Puglia airports site answer 404 and 403, so they could not be used as a second source either.

### How do you get from Bari to Lecce?

Regionale Veloce trains take 1 hour 41 to 1 hour 43 for a base fare of €13.20, and the Frecciarossa does it in 1 hour 25 for €14.90 base. Times and fares were checked for September 15, 2026, and Frecciarossa prices move with availability.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| L'aeroporto di Bari Karol Wojtyla (codice IATA BRI) ha registrato 7.977.881 passeggeri nel 2025 (+9,7% sul 2024). | [Assaeroporti](https://data-upload.assaeroporti.com/download-export/2025/12); [ENAC](https://www.enac.gov.it/app/uploads/2024/04/Dati-_di_traffico_2021_220914.pdf) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| L'aeroporto di Bari-Palese 'Karol Wojtyla' e' collegato a Bari Centrale da un treno Ferrotramviaria che impiega circa 17 minuti; la fermata e' dentro lo scalo, unita all'area arrivi da un tunnel di 300 metri, ed e' attiva dal 2013. | [Ferrotramviaria S.p.A.](https://www.ferrotramviaria.it/web/guest/da-aeroporto) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| In treno Roma Termini-Bari Centrale il collegamento diretto Frecciarossa piu' veloce impiega 4 ore e 14 minuti, con soli 6 Frecciarossa diretti nel giorno feriale rilevato: la relazione non e' servita da linea ad alta velocita' continua (orario in vigore a settembre 2026). | [Trenitalia (sistema di vendita Le Frecce)](https://www.lefrecce.it/Channels.Website.BFF.WEB/website/ticket/solutions) | medium | 2026-12-13 |
| Da Bari Centrale a Lecce il treno impiega circa 1h41-1h43 con i Regionale Veloce a 13,20 euro, e 1h25 con il Frecciarossa (orario e tariffe base consultati per il 15 settembre 2026). | [Trenitalia (Le Frecce - endpoint ufficiale di ricerca soluzioni di viaggio)](https://www.lefrecce.it/Channels.Website.BFF.WEB/website/ticket/solutions); [Trenitalia / RFI - ViaggiaTreno](http://www.viaggiatreno.it/infomobilita/resteasy/viaggiatreno/cercaStazione/BARI) | medium | 2027-06-30 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/city.bari.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Evelyn Hill from Rome, Italy. License: CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bari_Vecchia_(40106893452).jpg

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/paesi/bari/come-arrivare.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/pueblos/bari/como-llegar.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/villages/bari/acces.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/orte/bari/anreise.md