Issues with Train Availability/Suggestions

Posted by Doug on 08/12/25 01:20 PM

I will be traveling to Florence(Castelfiorentino) on Oct 7th for a wedding the 10th. I have a flight home booked from Geneva the following week. My initial plan was to take a train on the 12th to Geneva but it seems like there is a lack of train availability on the weekend of the 11th and 12th. Specifically on the 11th/12th the usual direct 45 minute train from Castelfiorentino to Florence is now like 4:45 with 3 transfers, and the usual 7:30 ride from Florence to Geneva with a transfer in Milan is now like 9:30 with an additional transfer or two. I cant seem to find out why these schedules are changed. The following week looks normal but do not see anything specific for these days.

I need to get to Geneva by the 13th but would prefer the 12th or leave later in the day the 11th from Castelfiorentino. I liked the train option going through the mountains but really don't like the idea of a 9:30 ride with the extra stops when any other day its shorter and smoother. I'd really appreciate any suggestions on how to get to Geneva. I could do a flight from Bologna(FLR is lacking flight options and more expensive) but because of the weird schedule the train ride from Castelfiorentino to Bologna is now like 4 hours vs 1:30.

Posted by Tinac

North Italy

08/13/25 02:13 PM

557 posts

I had a look for 11th October after 15:00 and the Trenitalia website shows various options leaving Castelfiorentino (for example at 15.02,) changing at Empoli and Pisa and taking about 4 hours.
I don't see why you would want to go via Florence and Milan which doesn't make sense - have a look at a map to see what I mean - Empoli Pisa Genova is far far shorter

Posted by Doug OP

08/13/25 02:29 PM

3 posts

Geneva, Switzerland not Italy.

Posted by lachera

Firenze, Italy

08/13/25 05:00 PM

1925 posts

The line between Empoli and Siena is being upgraded, so this August there is no service. I read that also the weekend, Oct. 18th and 19th, was since a long time planned for suspension of service. In these cases there are buses substituting the railway service, so the trip may be a little slow and unconfortable for the changes, but not impossible at all.

I don't understand what is happening on Oct. 11th and 12th, as such a suspension of service without supporting buses looks to me impossible, maybe the works planning is changing.

My brother at present lives in Geneva and comes to Florence every couple of months. While he has tried to do it by train, he usually goes by air with a change in Zurich.

Posted by hiredman

San Diego, California, USA

08/13/25 08:45 PM

1597 posts

It looks like there's a morning bus that covers this route on Saturday and the last stop is near the train station. The bus is 1:15 which is much less than the 3 hours for the long way around train solution offered.

It's only about an 45 minute drive so you could consider an NCC driver from Florence. It wouldn't be the cheapest solution - probably 200e+ - but only you can decide if it's worth the cost to you to avoid the 2+ extra hours on the train and/or the ability to make a specific flight.

If you fly on Sunday you could stay overnight in either Florence or Bologna since they remain 30 minutes apart by train.

Good luck,
=Tod

Posted by Doug OP

08/14/25 01:52 PM

3 posts

Where do you find the supporting bus/schedules. I assume it would be when I search for trains but they are not appearing? I’m using Trenitalia and Railrurope. I am thinking I will not be able to leave Saturday morning as the wedding is Friday night so would probably plan for something after 1 or 2 to atleast make it to Florence. I’m hoping October 11/12 opens up since I’d prefer to atleast get the plan on how I’m getting to Florence solidified.

Posted by hiredman

San Diego, California, USA

08/14/25 02:35 PM

1597 posts

Unfortunately bus information in Italy always seems to be obtuse and aimed only at Italians.

Bus 373 only makes the whole run between between Castelfiorentino and Florence in the mornings but not Sunday.
Here is the site to download the schedules - it looks like this schedule is good until 11.6.2025:
https://www.at-bus.it/en/linee-e-orari/empoli-extraurbano-373#tabs-toggle-0

From my reading it looks like the Saturday bus only the 6:00am and 08:15am buses go all the way to Florence and then again at 13:35. Otherwise you might be able to make it by changing - probably in Montespertoli - but then you're back to 2+ hours.

This is 3rd party Moovit App:
https://moovitapp.com/tripplan/firenze-2022/lines/373/244921039/8578823/en?ref=2&poiType=line&abTest=Control-Lines-1751438285&customerId=4908&af_sub8=%2Findex%2Fen%2Fpublic_transit-line-373-Firenze-2022-2953362-244921039-0&af_sub9=View%20on%20map%20(button)&af_sub9=View%20on%20map%20(button)

As I said I'm not a fan of the bus information in Italy so I'm not saying this is the only solution but it's the only one I've found. Often it's possible to get a bus somewhere closer like Poggibonsi-S. Gimignano station and take the train but everywhere seems to affected by this outage - even the Siena train is showing 4-6 hours.

Maybe you can ask at the wedding venue or where you're staying for more information. I'm sure they're dealing with the same closure issues as well since they are probably trying to move guests in and out around the closure as well. Maybe they know something about replacement services we don't.

Good luck,
=Tod