Italy train strikes

I'm also looking for advice about this. I have trains booked from Venice Mestre to Ravenna on 3rd June as I have a cruise booked! The trains are with Trenitalia. I contacted them earlier via web chat and they told me that no train strikes have been confirmed for 3rd June, despite what Trainline and other sources say. How can I confirm if my trains are running? Thanks

Unfortunately no one can really answer whether a threatened strike will happen or whether your specific train will be affected. The strike(s) in May largely didn't happen but until the time gets closer there's really no way to say for certain.

The official list of guaranteed trains is here: https://www.trenitalia.com/content/dam/tcom/allegati/trenitalia_2014/informazioni/TABELLA_A_Treni_garantiti_DPLH.pdf

But the reality is that these are generally the big intercity trains and local trains that are most likely to be affected are not listed. If your train is affected you will have your ticket rebooked but this is less helpful to people on vacation.
A decent overview of strikes: https://italybeyondtheobvious.com/travelers-guide-strikes-italy/

Without insider knowledge it is often impossible to tell how likely a strike is. Two trips ago our hotel in Varenna tipped us off about a possible strike so we left Milan early to get out before the threatened strike. I still don't know if it happened but if it did we dodged it. On a more recent visit featured a huge nationwide strike and again our BnB host kept us in the loop. We booked the last guaranteed train into Venice and we made it there and the vaporetti were on strike but that a different story.

The official website for which unions have threatened strikes and on which days is here:
https://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi

The official train answer for what happens during a strike:
https://www.italiarail.com/strike-information#:~:text=The%20best%20website%20to%20use,get%20to%20the%20Italy%20section.
and
https://www.trenitalia.com/en/purchase/info_contacts/in_case_of_strike.html

The best you can do is keep an eye on it make back up plans where you can in case it does happen and maintain a relentlessly optimistic attitude. Rick used to say he loved it Italy because it was as close as you could get to adventure travel in Europe. That is no longer really true but it does still sometimes feel that way...

Good luck and have a great trip regardless,
=Tod

Thank you this is really helpful. I have another 18 hours to change my Airbnb so I may just stay in Florence one more night to avoid any potential problems. Looks like I could get to La Spezia on a 6am train and then Taxi but it may be worthwhile to delay a day.

We were in Manarola during the potential May 19 train strike. We needed to get back to Rome for a flight back to the US. At that time was had non refundable hotel nights in Rome so a delay was going to cost us money. Take my advice and don’t put yourself in this situation. It was stressful. The Prime Minister canceled the strike right before but I’d avoid travel on a potential strike day if you have that option in advance.

MaxTrav indeed we are trying to avoid such a situation. I was still within my cancellation/change window (by 18hours! )with our Airbnb in Corniglia so we dropped our first night there and found a simple accommodation in Florence to stay an additional day in the case that the scheduled strike does occur. Definitely worth the peace of mind. I’m learning that flexibility is the key to happy traveling!

Thank you, especially Hiredman. this is helpful and specific information.

Questions: I understand that Italy is a Wild place and strikes are difficult to predict. In general, do you think 1 day extra is enough cushion? I am looking at Milan on regional train (to/from Lecco), late Aug/early Sept. typically I would take the train 1 day before the Must be there day; if we plan to take the train 2 days before that, are the odds decent that we will get a train in time?

And confirming this is the website to use? www.commissionegaranziasciopero.it

I had trouble trying to navigate Trenord site.

I cannot get the website to load www.commissionegaranziasciopero.it . is there another place to check for strike updates?

And general reassurance; is booking and traveling on this regional train fairly straightforward?

thank you!

@Suzanne I know it seems that Italy is the wild west, but the unions have worked out a deal where they can strike but these strikes are pre-announced (hence the 'strike' website) in terms of scope and region and certain services are guaranteed. As I understand it (as a non-Italian) essentially strikes are called to create leverage by certain unions at certain times and that's why they often don't happen because a deal is worked out and the strike is cancelled or delayed.

Since the strikes are pre-announced a one day cushion should be fine since the strike will happen at it's pre-announced time or it won't but I don't think it can be shifted a day because that breaks the agreement. It can be hard as an outsider the nuances of which union and which regions may be involved - I know there a strike recently but it involved only package and not people transit.

Hope that helps, there a many threads on strikes if you want to search the forum but the general consensus is they are essentially just to be managed like bad weather as best you can.

Embrace the chaos, and have a great trip,
=Tod

I’ve been searching all over, so does anyone know if there are scheduled transportation strikes for Italy for July 2024 and if it affects train and air?

Sorry. Hiredman had great resources. Thanks so much. Much appreciated