General strike April 11th?

Italo will notify you if your train is cancelled.
The last time I was in Italy in 2022, there was a similar announcement (unions by law have to notify the public in advance) and nothing happened.

You just need familiarize yourself with the options of taking the bus also.

"Italo will notify you if your train is cancelled."

I'm sure they'll notify me, but I guess my question was whether I should proactively make alternative arrangements now?

How far in advance would they notify in this kind of event?

What route are you taking?

If the trip you have planned is a "local", it may not be affected. Once a train is en route it will go to its final destination - at least that has been my experience.

Firenze S.M. Novella to Venezia S.Lucia.

Well if I was in your shoes I'd book a ticket on Flixbus as insurance and the tickets are relatively cheap not more than $10 dollars (to accommodate student and budget travelers) and it takes around 4 hours direct to Venice Mestre train station from there you can get a regional train that will take you into Venice.
https://www.flixbus.com/bus-routes/bus-florence-venice

Certain trains are guaranteed to run during the strike - these tend to a few in the morning and a few in the evening.

Here is a very old list of guaranteed trains to run - check the number of the train and the final destination because the train from Florence starts somewhere else - probably Naples.
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/dam/tcom/allegati/trenitalia_2014/informazioni/TABELLA_A_Treni_garantiti_DPLH.pdf

This list is old (if you can find a newer one please let me know) but it worked for me last year during a sweeping nationwide strike I booked on the last guaranteed train from Verona to Venice with an Italotreno super-cheap ticket as a back-up. The train was late and ran slower than they usually do but it went. I don't know if the Italotreno train left or not. I was scheduled 15 minutes later than my train and we left 25 minutes late so I couldn't tell what happened.

We arrived in Venice late and into the storm of the vaporetti also on strike but that is a whole other story.

Our BnB in Venice was very helpful in keeping an eye on the strike and keeping us informed. Usually Italotreno and the vaporetti are immune to strikes but this time was an exception.

Having a back-up plan is never a bad idea - hopefully this helps some.

Good luck,
=Tod

Thank you so much for that link! Very helpful info. The PDF says valid from Dec 2023 to June 2024.

I see a few guaranteed Frecce trains on the route I need but if they are after 1pm anyway so would it make any difference? The text says "4 HOURS: RAILWAY 9.01-13.00." Not sure if those hours are firm / precise.

Very helpful info though!

Looks like Italo has posted info about the strike and guaranteed trains. By sheer luck the existing booking is on a guaranteed train.

• Does this mean the train will operate as normal?
  
• Are there any other things we should know about guaranteed trains running during a strike (e.g. no drink services or arrive early to the train station)? I tried to call Italo but could not get anyone who spoke English.
• Since this is a general strike will it be difficulty to get a cab to the train station? What about black cars, etc.?