A train strike- refund from Trentalia?

Only a couple of days? I would worry more after a couple of months. I am sure it will come later. Nothing happens fast in Italy. BUT this also illustrates why a debit card should not be used in this manner. Had it been a credit card you would not have to worry about the refund.

I was on the fast train from Milan to Rome. It was late and they gave out forms to all Italians for a refund. An older gentleman insisted the conductor give one to me and then sought out someone who spoke English and helped me fill it out. I received a check in the mail over six months later!! I then had trouble having the check cashed or deposited because they explained to me it was under $100.00!! I'd give it more time!

My main question is not about the timeline of the refund, I'm wondering since the agent said the refund will come "when we get back to our country" I'm wondering if I needed to do anything more? Probably not huh? Just wait:)

He probably knew that it was going to take longer than your Schengen visa of 90 days so you would be home again. You probably will have to wait this one out. Might call the bank and see if there is any hope of reversing the charge. Next time use a credit card.

Just thought I would share that we just got our refund check from a Trenitalia strike 15 months later!! I had already written it off in my mind, so it was pretty hilarious to receive it today. I will say maybe 6 or 9 months in I got something in the mail saying they got my initial submittal. Good luck!

So - what did you do when your train was canceled? Did you have to rent a car? Buy a ticket for a later train? Curious as we are traveling around Italy for eight days at Christmas and have purchased all our tickets.

We received our refund check about 6 months later too. I had given up hope! I did email my hotel and ask for an email address which they gave me. I couldn't find the right site on the English portion of Trentalia's website. So, I'm not sure if I got the refund because of that, or because of the website inquiry. When our train was cancelled, we had the choice of a refund or you could be issued a ticket on another train or a different day. We chose a refund because we didn't know if we would have time, or if the weather would be favorable the next day to go to the Cinque Terra. If you see the word cancellato on the big ticker board, maybe check to see what train is cancelled. I think that maybe the Trentalia's website will tell you if there is going to be a strike or not. They basically have planned strikes there.

I'm a bit confused. First, most train tickets from Florence to the CT do not have the train information on them. From Florence to Pisa or La Spezia, the trains are mostly Regionale trains. You buy the ticket and it's an "open" ticket for 60 days. You can ride any Regionale train you want during the next 60 days making that run. No train or seat information. On the Regionale trains, you pick the train and time you want during the 60 days. You validate your ticket, get on and you find your own seat. No seat reservations permitted. Second, by Italian law and agreement with the unions, all trains do not stop during a strike. Trains still run quite frequently during a strike. Florence to Pisa is an essential run and some trains will run. Third, you "figured" that there was a strike. You didn't say that a strike actually occured. I'm curious if one actually did occur.

First and Second- maybe there was another way around this, but it was difficult enough mapping out one route to CT. I believe time-wise that there was only one train going that would give us a pretty full day in the CT before we would have to catch a train home. Third- We figured out that there was a strike, by spending a lot of time trying to find an authority who would clue us in as to what was happening. A strike did occur.