Why would you take a bus from Venice to Milan? Even if the strike is confirmed, What makes you think that high speed trains won't run?

Hello KRS,

Here are a list of fast Trenitalia trains that are supposed to be guaranteed to run even during a strike:
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/dam/tcom/allegati/trenitalia_2014/informazioni/TABELLA_A_Treni_garantiti_DPLH.pdf

Basically there is an early train and some later trains and the strike - if it happens - is supposed to end at 9:00/21:00. I don't know if that's too late to get to Venice from Milan but those are the hours.

Also - if it happens - there is a general strike called so buses may also be affected. And just on a personal note I cannot think that any dya is so important as to spend 5 hours on a bus rather than another night in Milan and then take the earliest train, but that's up to you.

Good luck, I may see you on one of the Venice trains,
=Tod

Gentlemen, maybe I am not understanding the list of trains that are supposed to run regardless of a strike. I only see one from Milan to Venice and that is late in the evening. Are you saying the early trains to Venice from other places will stop in Milan and allow me to board or am I missing something else? That would be doable, although I still can't figure out how to get to Milan in the morning, however, I suppose maybe I could cancel one night of my reservation in Varenna and go to Milan a day early as was suggested.

I am saying that no strike has ever blocked high speed trains.
There is an early train, but there is also the guaranteed train FRECCIAROSSA #9716. It departs from VENEZIA SANTA LUCIA at 08:18 and calls at Milano Porta Garibaldi station. Milan may be an intermediate stop for some of the guaranteed trains.

So you're saying as long as I can figure out how to be in Milan on October 20, even if there is a strike, my train will still run as scheduled? I can definitely live with that!

Edit to respond to the additional comment added to your post after I typed mine: I am going TO Venice, not FROM Venice.

I am saying that no strike has ever blocked high speed trains. There
is an early train, but there is also the guaranteed train FRECCIAROSSA

9716. It departs from VENEZIA SANTA LUCIA at 08:18 and calls at Milano Porta Garibaldi station. Milan may be an intermediate stop for

some of the guaranteed trains.

I appreciate you trying to help!

I am going TO Venice, not FROM Venice.

Oh, s*it. Now I get it...

So since local trains do strike and high speed trains rarely do, the big problem will be going from Varenna to Milan, not from Milan to Venice.

edit: the EC train #311 is guaranteed. It departs from Zuerich at 8:38, calls at Como S. Giovanni at 11:08 and arrives in Venice at 14:42.

Have you considered hiring a driver from Varenna to Milan?

Usually can cancel up to 24 hours prior

Here is one we used in the area
https://connectotransfers.com/

Hi Christine. I did a little research on hiring a car, but from what I saw, that's a really expensive option, so I'd rather not. Still, it's on my list of possibilities unless the strike is resolved or I come up with a better plan.

I'm in no way an expert I am just checking the train numbers from the Trenitalia document against the train number for that day.

9715 FRECCIAROSSA TORINO PORTA NUOVA 08:10 VENEZIA SANTA LUCIA 11:42

The schedule shows 9715 Milano Centrale 08:48 - Venezia S. Lucia 11:42. This is probably same train I'm hoping to catch in Verona at 10:30 en route to Venice as well based on this list.

Dario has way more experience with Italian trains and I've heard that the big city fast trains generally keep running so he's probably right about the fast trains in general. I'm going to get a ticket for this one out of an abundance of caution and if I get into Venice a couple of hours earlier than I otherwise planned on I'll just be happy to be there.

Last time I was in Italy I go onto an early train from Milan to Varrena to avoid a strike action. I'll never know if catching the earlier train actually made any difference in getting there that day or not. There is still plenty of time for the strike to be called off or delayed and then all of this fuss will have been for nothing.

Good luck, KRS, hopefully this will all work out and I'll see you in Venice,
=Tod

I appreciate this information Tod. I'm not sure I'll ever understand the train schedules in Europe. I thought the fast trains were direct, meaning they don't stop anywhere along the way, which would mean I can't catch this train in Milan.

The ticket I've already purchased is a direct train from Milan to Venice, which if I understand Dario correctly, will not likely be canceled, yet it's not on the list, so I'm not sure how to tell if it will be canceled or not if the strike isn't resolved.

Goodness I hope the strike is able to be settled, although I can't help but think that if the workers are striking, there must be a bigger, more important issue at hand than that of my vacation being a bit disrupted. That leads me back to remembering how fortunate I am that I'm worried about how to get from one amazing place to another as opposed to how to be fairly compensated for my work.

“direct” means no changes not non-stop
Most all fast trains make a few stops

You can see the stops on the listing on Trenitalia by clicking on “Details”

Example freccia 9717 on Sept 4 9:45 am
Stops in Brescia, Garda, Verona, Vicenza, Padova, Mestre, S Lucia

KRS, just find a private driver from Varenna to Como S. Giovanni station and take the direct, guaranteed EC train from Como to Venice I mentioned above. I can't imagine a better/easier solution. This way you will also avoid walking in Milan Central station during a strike day.

so I'm not sure how to tell if it will be canceled

Nobody can, but to date no Union has ever succeeded in blocking high speed trains.

meaning they don't stop anywhere along the way

Trains need to break-even, so they must make intermediate stops on the way to let paying passengers get on and off. Quite obviously Venice is too small and too far to enjoy a no-stop service from Turin.

there must be a bigger, more important issue at hand than that of my vacation being a bit disrupted.

Trust me, there isn't. Not when a strike is called by those tiny Unions that shouldn't even exist. They have called a precautionary general strike against a budget law before the drafts were published. Sometimes I really miss the Berlin Wall...

Now that it's been explained, it makes sense that direct simply means no need to change trains. I've only taken a train once here at home, from Harrisburg to NYC, so my experience with train travel is really only in Europe. Yet another thing I've learned from this forum.

It seems more likely that I can get to where I want to be on the 20th with this information, and I truly appreciate the help I've received here. I'm still hoping the strike will be resolved, but I'm not as worried now about my backup plan. Thank you!