October 2024 Italy Train Strikes

You will be fine because the October 5 strike is going to impact buses, trams and some commuter rail lines--not the high-speed trains of Trenitalia or Italotreno.

Thank you.

I am in a similar situation on October 5, 2024, with tickets on the regional train from Varenna-Esino to Milan Centrale. Are the regional trains affected by this scheduled strike. Thanks in advance!

We are planning to take the bus from Siena to Florence on October 5th - does anyone know if this bus service might be affected by the strike?

@mkerby. The regional commuter trains of Milan’s Trenord have gone on strike during these bus/tram/commuter train strikes called by the transit unions. You might need to take a ferry from Varenna to the town of Como and continue by a shuttle to Milan.

@Tim
The buses in Tuscany have been operated by a single company since 2021. While I don’t know if the employees of the Firenze public transit system have been joining these local transportation strikes in a big way- you may want to e-mail the proprietor of your accommodation in Florence to get their input.
In any event, you can always take a Trenitalia train from Florence to Siena. They depart almost hourly and only take 15 minutes longer than the Express bus. There is an escalator that will get you from train station to Siena’s historic center on the hilltop.

What a ou ferries on Lago Maggiore? We plan to travel by ferry to Locarno that day.

We're flying into Milan Malpensa on Delta on September 24. The strikes website I've found shows numerous entries that mention "Aeroporto di Milano Malpensa" on the 24th. Could someone explain if any of the listed strikes would affect us?

Thanks!

Hi Lola, I haven’t learned that the lake ferries are part of the October 5 strike. The ferries seems to have their own separate union which did go on strike just a day or two ago, separately from the regional transportation strike hitting buses, trams and local commuter trains of Trenord.

@johnva
Whenever a strike affects the trains between Milan Malpensa Airport and Central Milan, substitute buses are brought in to make sure travelers can get to and from the airport. The problem on 24/9 is the baggage handlers at Milan’s airports will be on strike.
If you have checked luggage— you may be delayed considerably in getting your luggage.

Thank you Kenko - I will check with our AirBnB host and may also contact the bus company directly.

Can anyone post a link to the official strike information pages, please?

We are on Trenitalia trains that day, Lecce-Caserta-Napoli, but it sounds as if that won’t be affected.
Thank you.

We are travelling on 5 October from Bolzano to Milan Central on Trentalia, then on to Varenna on Trenord. I understand the Bolzano to Milan won't be affected, but Milan to Varenna on Trenord will? How should we go about getting to Varenna? Leave Bolzano a day early? We have bought tickets already that are changeable and refundable.

Can anyone post a link to the official strike information pages, please?

https://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi

Thank you!

We are arriving at FCO on Oct. 5 and we were planning on taking the train to Orvieto which is a regional train. I presume this regional train will be on strike? And the bus will be affected by the strike? Thank you.

Hi Theresa, The Regional train from Rome to Orvieto is one operated by TRENORD and I believe will be hit by the strike. As luck would have it, you can continue from Rome to Orvieto on a TRENITALiA IC ( Intercity) train. www.TheTrainline.com shows you what trains are operated by which company as does www.Trenitalia.com
Trenitalia is Italy’s national train company and its high-speed trains are not part of this strike.
The Leonardo Express trains from Rome FCO into Rome will run as usual.

@kcdav
Yes- the TRENORD train from Milan to Varenna-Esino will be a target of the strike.
With changeable train tickets and a cancellable hotel reservation, your best bet— as you’ve already figured out—is to leave Bolzano for Varenna a day earlier ( or later) than you planned.
Enjoy Tyrol and Lake Como!

Thanks for the link to the strikes page, how scary is that?

We fly in to Malpensa on 24th September and there are lots of airport related strikes listed that day.

We do have a driver booked to take us to Varenna, but is anything else at the airports likely to affect us? It is somewhat hard to understand what it all means.

Secondly, we leave by train from Varenna-Esino to Tirano on 28th September. There are no strikes mentioned for that day, but is that locked in or might they announce some before then?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

It does indeed seem that we will be affected on Oct 5 from Milan to Varenna. We do have changeable refundable tickets. My questions are: do the strikes ever get called off? and how soon should we make alternate arrangements?, i.e. reschedule our train tickets to the day before or after and alter our hotel reservations? I have already reached out to our host in Varenna to see if we can check in a day early.

@kcdav. Occasionally strikes do get cancelled.
However, I fully expect the October 5 strike will happen because the Italian government in Rome banned strikes during this summer’s peak tourism season and the strikes that could not happen then have been scheduled for this fall. ( In Italy strikes are announced weeks or months in advance and actually put on a schedule)! This strike will idle both the TRENORD trains from Milan to Varenna and the buses that run from Milan up to Como on Lake Como, where a ferry otherwise could be taken from Como to Varenna. If you can book an INTERCITY ( denoted by “IC” in the train schedules) then book an IC train.
I expect October 5 to be chaotic for those trying to reach Lake Como from Milan.
Hotels at Varenna reportedly sold out for the days before and during the strikes that just occurred September 8-9. With that in mind, it’s advisable to reserve hotels NOW for travel to Lake Como on October 4 or October 6.

We were planning on taking the bus round trip from Siena to Florence on October 5th and I contacted the place we were staying for information and they hadn't heard about the potential strike. Since it is not much more effort to take the train, we bought train tickets for the day simply to avoid the uncertainty caused by the potential strike since the cost is similar, to the bus the train, the location in Florence is similar and the time on the train is similar. Though it is highly unlikely that the train would be overcrowded, my wife has memories of several years ago when a regional train in Germany was packed due to Bayern Munich's Bundesliga championship celebration. Still a fun travel memory.

Tim, That would have been a wild train ride with all the Bayern football fans!

You did what I would do in buying Trenitalia tix rather than waiting to see what happens once you’re there and needing to keep an eye on the news. It’s better to have no worries when on vacation and enjoy all your time in Europe.
Cheers!

Thanks, Kenko! Now should I book ahead, allowing some time for possible delayed flights? Theresa

Hi Theresa, The Leonardo Expess train ( takes 32 minutes with a train departing every 30 minutes) will run from FCO to Roma Termini as it’s exempt from strikes. You can buy your ticket after you’ve landed.

Buy a Trenitalia ticket for an Intercity or Frecciarosa train from Roma Termini to Orvieto at www.Trenitalia.com and click the horizontal lines in upper right corner for English. At the moment, there are trains departing Termini for Orvieto on October 5 at 10:22, 10:50, 12:40, 15:30, and 16:10 and later. ( These trains may sell out shortly so buy your tix ASAP).

Give yourself a buffer of 3.5 hours or so after your scheduled landing time, if you feel comfortable with that- more time if you want to eat lunch before departing Rome.

Have a great trip!

I contacted the Bolzano Tourist Office and this was their reply:

"thank you for your kind request and your interest in our region. We have spoken to the mobility office in Bolzano, and they informed us that, as of now, no strike is planned for the 5th Oktober.

We remain at your disposal for any further information you should need.
Thanks, and best regards from Bolzano, the gateway to the Dolomites"

Do you think I can rely on this?

@ kcdav, If you’re on a Trenitalia train from Bolzano to Milan— then you should be fine. Do you have an alternative to get to Varenna from Milan on October 5? That is the snag if you cannot book an Intercity (IC) train.

@DebH, It looks like the baggage handlers at Milan’s Malpensa and Linate airports ( LIN and MXP) will be going out on strike on October 5. That may affect you if have any belongings checked in on your flight. If you only have carry-on luggage— no problem.
Currently there are no scheduled strikes for September 28 so that day should be fine. That’s good since TRENORD, a regional transportation operator, operates the trains running between Varenna-Esino and Tirano, Italy and is a frequent target of local transportation strikes.

For all scheduled transportation strikes in Italy which could impact your itinerary:
https://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi

We are monitoring the situation. I think it may be best to either leave the Dolomites a day early ( and we may want to depending on the weather anyway) or hire a drive to take us from Milan to Varenna.

Kenko, I really appreciate all the detailed information you provided! Thank you so much! Theresa

Good luck everyone!

We are taking the train from Florence to Venice on October 5th. Based on what everyone is saying here our train will not be affected. But what about vaparetto? Is that considered same as bus?

I just discovered this group after reading Rick's Italy and Sicily guide and am so glad I did! We are leaving in two weeks for our first trip to Italy. I appreciate sharing the link regarding the train strikes, however, I just can't figure out how to read it. We are planning to take the train from Rome to Naples on October 5. Will we be impacted by the strike? Thanks all for your help!

I am also so grateful for this thread. Can I have your suggestions? I will be attempting to travel from Lerici to Sarzana to catch a Trenitalia train to Pisa and then on to Florence, all on October 5th. I was originally going to take a bus from Lerici to Sarzana, but…you know. Strike.

Should I attempt to book a car transfer?

Do you think any taxi apps service the Lerici area?

What would you do? It’s about a 15 min drive or a 2.5 hour walk (with luggage) to Sarzana. I don’t know what to do! Thanks for the advice!

@grtful2, The October 5 strikes are targeting public transit such as city trams, buses and regional trains ( In Italy these are called “Regionale” trains, usually designated with an “RE”. in front of the train number).
Sometimes the underground Metro systems in the larger cities are also affected.
The high-speed trains of Trenitalia— the government-run train company in Italy— and the high-speed trains of the private train company called “Italotreno” should NOT be affected by the October 5 strike and those trains should run according to schedule.
So, assuming you have a ticket on a high-speed train from Rome to Naples— such as a Frecciarosa, Frecciabianca, etc. or an “Intercity” train— you can expect to reach Naples according to schedule.
Now, on October 12 the situation is reversed. . The nationwide strike that day is targeting all the trains of Trenitalia and Italotreno. Both the “ Regionale” trains and the high-speed trains will be idled by the strike. The only exceptions will be Regionale trains that are “guaranteed” during commuter rush hours between 6 am and 9 am and between 6pm and 9 pm and the high-speed Trenitalia trains which are guaranteed on their published list. Italotreno has not yet posted its list of trains which will run during the strike.
This is so employees have a way to get to and from work on strike days. There are very few “guaranteed” Trenitalia high-speed trains that will run, but I can almost guarantee those trains are already sold out,
Italotreno will eventually post updates on its website regarding which of its high-speed trains are cancelled in October but currently there is only information on the September situation.
The best thing to do on October 12/13 ( the strike is scheduled from 21:00 on Oct. 12 through 20:59 on Oct 13) is to stay in the city you’re already in as the buses, trams and metro systems should be running as usual so you can get to attractions within the city you are already in.
If you’re planning to change cities on October 13, then I strongly suggest you leave by the afternoon of October 12 to get to where you need to go. Distance train travel during a nationwide rail strike in Italy is not something for the uninitiated.

@kimberlyjpowers, On October 5, If you can get a ride from your hotel proprietor or a taxi for the five miles from Lerici to Sarzana’s train station, Trenitalia’s train RE 19339 departs Sarzana for Viareggio at 6:15 am.

I believe this train is guaranteed as it runs after 6am and before 9am but you’ll want to verify that this is the case. It is scheduled to arrive in Viareggio at 6:52am.
Fifteen minutes later, Trenitalia’s RE 18425 is scheduled to depart at 7:08am from Viareggio for Firenze Santa Maria Novella arriving into Florence at 8:48am. There also is train RE 18505 departing Viareggio at 7:10am arriving at Firenze SM Novella at 8:52am. The tickets cost about €16 for both journey legs and you can buy them online today from the websites listed below.
www.TheTrainline.com
www.Trenitalia.com

Kenko, thanks for your advice.

My travel date was not October, but 24th September, where there are airport strikes at Malpensa in Milan.

I have cirumvented this by changing our flight from Dubai to Milan to Dubai to Zurich.

Now I have to figure out how to get from Zurich to Varenna, but at least the Swiss do not seem to strike as the Italians do.

At this point there are no strikes planned for the 28th when we need to get from Varenna to Tirano, but if one gets called I'll organise a driver.

Thanks again, and good luck to those travelling by rail in Italy for the next few weeks.

I'm heading back from Belluno City to Venice Airport on Saturday October 5th. My Italian is very poor so where can I find out how this will effect me and whether they'll be bus replacements or a skeletal service on that day?

As above, travel on Regionale trains traveling to the airport between 6am and 9am, or between 6pm and 9 pm or prepared to hire a taxi or ride share service.

Thanks Kenko. I've booked a hostel in Venice for the Friday as an insurance policy.

Thanks again, Kenko. Trenitalia train booked for Oct. 5! We will be in Sorrento Oct. 12 so will plan on juts staying out that day.

@Kenko Thanks for the info!

Kenko:
I looked again at our train tickets for Oct 5th.
The first leg is a Frecciargento 8312 from Lecce to Caserta.

Then we are changing to a Trenitalia Regionale 5777 Caserta to Napoli, with a 5 minute connection.
Am I right in thinking that this Regionale train, and subsequent others on that route will be cancelled?
If so, so we get rebooked or refunded ?
Both tickets were booked together as one booking.

I wonder now if we should book a hotel in Caserta for that night and cancel our hotel in Naples.

The trouble is: my traveling companion has a flight out of Naples the next morning.
We could get up really early for the first train into Naples, her flight is at 11:00.

Thanks so much for all your knowledgeable help.

I’m so tired of all this upset to travel these days.

Kenko, please correct me if I am wrong, but according to the Italian government strike website (link below), it looks like the strike planned for October 12 begins at 9 pm that day and ends of 8:59 pm the following day.

https://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi

Hey everyone! I am so glad to stumble upon this site/thread as I’m also struggling with understanding these strikes. First timer in Italy and already pre-booked all my tickets on ItaloTreno. The one that I’m specifically worried is the train from Venezia S.Lucia to Firenze S.M. Novella on 10/9 at 11:05AM. It seems like this strike will take place nationwide and specifically the railway maintenance for 24 hours.

I just wanted to see if anyone has anymore insight regarding this strike happening on October 9, 2024? I’m stalking the ItaloTreno app/website but I don’t see any guaranteed trains for October yet. Should I just keep refreshing the page or expect it to be updated during early October?

(Info below was copy and pasted from the official ministry of infrastructure and transport website)

*10/09/2024 10/09/2024 COBAS PRIVATE WORK/RAILWAY COORDINATION Railway SOC STAFF. RFI INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS 24 HOURS: ENTIRE WORK PERFORMANCE National

10/09/2024 10/09/2024 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WORKERS MAINTENANCE RFI INFRASTRUCTURE Railway SOC STAFF. RFI INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS 24 HOURS: ENTIRE WORK PERFORMANCE National*

Any info would be greatly helpful and appreciated. This is very stressful. Thank you so much guys!

I have train tickets from rome to florence on 9th October. If you have any information regarding strike please let me know.

Note that 10/09/2024 means September 10, not October 9, in European date-writing.

Hey Lola, thanks for the heads up!

I meant October 9, 2024. Sorry for the confusion! I’m so used to typing 10/9 instead of 9/10 (European date-writing).

The official announcement that was copied and pasted was directly from the website since it was already translated to English. Hence the dates were reversed back to 10/9/2024 instead of the European format of 9/10/2024.

I’ve booked bus tickets as my Plan B for now.

Are you sure the translation switched the date format? How was it written in Italian?

Hi Sasha,

I hope I’m not reading the dates wrong, but just in case I am…I’ve copied and pasted the original announcement in Italian below!

09/10/2024 09/10/2024 COBAS LAVORO PRIVATO/COORDINAMENTO FERROVIERI Ferroviario PERSONALE SOC. RFI IMPIANTI MANUTENZIONE INFRASTRUTTURE 24 ORE: INTERA PRESTAZIONE LAVORATIVA Nazionale

09/10/2024 09/10/2024 ASSEMBLEA NAZIONALE LAVORATORI MANUTENZIONE INFRASTRUTTURA RFI Ferroviario PERSONALE SOC. RFI IMPIANTI MANUTENZIONE INFRASTRUTTURE 24 ORE: INTERA PRESTAZIONE LAVORATIVA Nazionale

About the date format, I too noticed that a few dates but not others seemed to switch to American format in the English translation, at least in my Chrome browser ,but when I look at the Italian version in a different browser, (rather than switching the translation on and off) the dates are all consistently European format and in chronological order.

I greatly appreciate Kenko's man;y responses on the strikes. Although this may have been addressed, I am still confused on various points. On my arrival date, Sept. 30, it specifically says Trenord so I know that includes the Malpensa Express. On my return home date, Oct. 18, it says "local public transport." Is this likely to include the Malpensa Express on the 18th?

For a guaranteed regional train on a strike day such as Sept 30 or Oct 5, given that there are no reserved seats and regional trains don't sell out, is it a total mob scene or is there a reasonable chance of getting on one of the guaranteed regional trains?

Got it. But I wonder how a strike by “infrastructure maintenance personnel” affects the overall operation of the trains, and which ones.

My presumption would be that "infrastructure maintenance personnel" means the workers who look after the tracks.

So it would be OK until there was a signal failure or a track fault- then the trains would grind to a halt unpredictably as no-one would be around to do a repair.

What would worry me is the SOC personale striking. My Italian isn't up to the translation but I would strongly suspect that means the signalling staff. If no one turns up to man a signal box then no train (for any company, "guaranteed" or otherwise) will be going anywhere even if the track is in tip top shape.

That's the bit which if I was travelling in Italy on those dates would get me worried, unless I could get a sound translation.

@SJ. Your train may not run, but the good news is that the train immediately after yours— the RE #51160 should run at 15:06 (3:06 pm) arriving in Naples at 16:00 ( 4pm).

No need to change your train ticket . If your train does run out of Caserta just before 3 pm you’re good to go. If it doesn’t Trenitalua will allow you just take the next train.

Thanks, Kenko…but why would the one after ours definitely run if ours does not, if both of them are Regionale services?
Are you saying that Trenitalia Regionale services are not included in the strikes?
I’m a wee bit baffled!

Hi S.J. An error on my part for which I apologize (I misread the train times on the schedule…. This is how you know I’m a sentient being!
In order for Italians to get to and from work in accordance with an agreement between Trenitalia and all the unions, there is “guaranteed” train service Monday- Saturday for Regionale trains (RE trains) running between the hours of 6am and 9 am and again from 18:00-21:00.

You will be able to train from Caserta to Naples during those timeframes on October 5.

There also are a few Trenitalia Frecciarosa, Frecceargento, and Intercity trains from Lecce to Naples on 10/5. If there are any train connections, be sure to book a train only if the train you transfer to is also a Frecciarosa, Frecceargento or Intercity train.

ITABUS, a private bus company that is unaffected by strikes has buses from Lecce to Naples.

Kenko:

Ahh, I see!
Thank you.

That would be a nearly 4 hour wait between trains for us as our Lecce- Caserta train gets in at 14:02.
I’m still considering rebooking a hotel in Caserta for that night instead of waiting and going to Naples later.

Do you think everything will run as normal the next day Sunday the 6th?
My friend has to get to the airport in Naples by 9am at the very latest, and I have a train booked from N. Centrale at 11am.
We can get an ATC bus Caserta to Capodicchino and onward to Centrale leaving at 08:20, or a train at 06:30 earlier to N. Centrale.

https://www.atcbus.it/p/linea_aereoporto_nuovi_orari.htm

(Do you have any insight if the ATC buses are also involved in the Oct 5th strikes, being that they service the airport….if not, I’m thinking we could just get one right after arriving in Caserta on the 5th.)

I’m also seeing a “Metropolitano” service at 07:35, but I’m not sure what that is.
I’m just a bit worried the airport bus might be jammed and we would not get on.
What to do!!
I am so grateful for all your help, you have no idea….thanks again.

@CD in DC, In the event of strikes, TRENORD has buses substituting for the trains running between MXP and Milan Centrale. These buses to and from MXP are guaranteed to run during a strike, unlike the local buses, trams Trenord trains and RE trains in the metropolitan Milan region that day and October 18.
Are the guaranteed trains mobbed? I wouldn’t want to try to board the final two guaranteed trains as 9am or 9pm draw close.

What about strikes on Oct. 9 and Oct. 13? It's a bit confusing and stressful as we plan on travelling from Orvieto to Sorrento on Oct. 9 and then from Sorrento to Rome early morning on Oct. 13. I need advice for these dates please if anyone has any. Thank you.

Kenko, I’ve just edited and added another question to my last post.
Thank you.

@SJ, When it comes to international flights, my unalterable rule is to be in the departure city the night before the flight. I would book one of the Frecciarosa or Frecceargento trains from Lecce to Naples on October 5 as they are not strike targets. If there are transfers involved, be sure any ongoing trains are also on Frecce ( Frecciarosa or Frecceargento). or Intercity (IC) trains. There are some like this currently listed with tickets available at www.TheTrainline.com. You can read about them there although you will need to rebook through Trenitalia if you bought the original tix through them.
ITABUS also has buses running between Lecce and Milan.
You can always go see Pompeii’s artifacts at the National Archaeological Museum and. for dinner, have a Margherita Pizza in the city that invented it!

Kenko you seem so knowledgeable! Thanks for helping everyone. Do you know what kind of trains the Oct 18 strike effects? Struggling to understand. This is very stressful.

@Susan That is correct.

@juleem13, The October 18 strike is a nationwide action targeting local transportation to include local buses, trams and trains such as the ones run by TRENORD along with Regionale trains run by Trenitalia.

Thanks Kenko. So this shouldn't affect the regional trains between the Cinque Terre villages and La Spezia or a Frecciargento train from La Spezia to Rome?

ITABUS and FLIXBUS are two private bus companies whose buses are not targeted during strikes in Italy.
These two companies have buses between cities in Italy such as Venice to Florence, Rome to Florence, Rome to Naples, Lecce to Naples , Milan to Como. Milan to Bolzano etc.

For bus schedules, fares and to buy tix online visit:

www.ITABUS.it/en
www.Flixbus.com

Ok thanks Kenko. Sounds like we'll have to find another way to La Spezia that morning and then take the Frecciargento to Rome.

Thanks, Kenko.
Being in a city the night before a flight is my rule too!
I now have another “challenge” for my trip….my friend may not be able to join me after all, as the person who agreed 5 months ago to look after her dog ( she arranged this first, before she bought her flights) has bailed….10 days before our trip!
This affects not only her if she can’t find a dog sitter, but me too as I’m the one who has booked and paid $$ two bedroom places all along the way.
Trains now seem the least of my worries……
First world problems, I know……

I think all of us being affected by these upcoming strikes should have a virtual drink together when we all return home, with Kenko as the guest of honour! ;)
It will be interesting to read all the trip reports when we all have changed our plans, to see how everything worked out.

Gosh… I love dogs and know how upsetting that would be to have someone flake out as the dog sitter at the last minute with all the dominoes following.
Hopefully your friend can find someone or a good kennel to take care of her best friend.
Best regards-

Thanks!
She is already anxious…this is making it worse!

I did post my questions on other travel forums just to get absolute confirmation about everything around the strikes.
Doesn’t hurt to get a few opinions.

On Trip Advisor, a person from Italy with 44,000+ previous posts adamantly tells me that as there is no problem I don’t need a solution, and that Trenitalia is NOT affected at all, despite the fact that the Trenitalia site is listing only their guaranteed Regionale trains that day, and none of the others .
So a lot of misinformation about it all.

Not only Plan B, but Plan C is needed these days.

I’m listening to Kenko’s advice….thank you again!

We are traveling from Siena to Florence round trip on October 5th and originally had intended to take the bus but switched to the train because of the possible impending strike. We bought round trip tickets from Siena to Florence on Trentalia for the following trains on Oct. 5th:

Regionale #18278 leaving Siena at 8:48 and Regionale #18223 leaving Florence at 17:10

From reading the string of posts, the early train at 8:48 will definitely be running because it fits into the 6 am to 9 am window and the later train at 17:10 may not run until the next train scheduled after 18:00 which is at 18:10. Am I understanding the situation correctly?

If we have to spend another hour in Florence to take a train, that is not a major problem. Travel helps us to remember to be flexible and that is the attitude I am taking concerning the strikes.

https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/it/treni_regionali/toscana/treni_garantiti_toscana.html

I believe it was Kenko that pointed out this strike info to me…this is the Trenitalia link to each region, listing guaranteed trains in case of strike.