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Question Regarding Train Strikes in September

Hello! I will be visiting italy in mid September this year. I'm a bit worried about my train around 19-21 September (Friday-Sunday) in case there's a possible train strike on that date. Around this date I should be going from Sestri Levante to Pisa, and then later on another day Pisa to Florence. Is this a risky date for strikes? Would it be better if I aim to go from Sestri to Pisa on the 18th (Thursday)? I assume Pisa to Florence part would be easier in case there is a strike, there are more buses and there are also direct guaranteed train still.

Thankyou!

Posted by
3269 posts

In Italy strikes must be announced at least 10 days in advance. There are currently no rail strikes scheduled for September 19-21. If there are, trains are guaranteed to run Monday through Saturday from 6am-9am and again from 6pm-9pm. Private companies operating Intercity buses continue their schedules when there is a rail strike.

Posted by
23280 posts

Jean, facinating link. Thanks for posting. That will help a lot of people.

But one thing i noticed are two dates at the far right. Proclimation Date and Date Received. I assume something to do with the date that strike was called or approved or reported to the government.

If my assumption is correct then a lot of these strikes were called within a month prior to the date that they take place. In other words, there is no telling for September 19-21 until the date gets much closer.

Given that (if I am correct) this just isnt something to worry about because you wont know until you know, then there is always a Plan B.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks for all the replies!

Yes, I think there's no way of knowing these from far ahead except maybe from late August later on. Because this year i think it has happened both weekdays and weekends, so it could be unpredictable and quite useless for me to shift my itinerary and rush some parts without knowing for sure.
I was worried because if there is no train from Sestri to Pisa the only alternative direct public transport mode I will have is only 1 Flixbus at night hahaha and many other people will also choose the option as back up plan. But after searching for options I think they have guaranteed trains with a transit in La Spezia, so that should be okay as long as my family won't get stranded there.

Posted by
23280 posts

jessicatatyana22, you said "family" so I thought if its a larger group maybe a transfer is not too crazy an idea. But then I looked at prices. I am use to using transfer services in Eastern Europe and wow! Eastern Europe is half the price. Never mind.

Posted by
1340 posts

was worried because if there is no train from Sestri to Pisa the only alternative direct public transport mode I will have is only 1 Flixbus at night

Use an online translation service to look at the page https://www.trenitalia.com/it/informazioni/treni-garantiti-incasodisciopero.html if there is a strike on the day you need this train. There will be guaranteed regional and long distance trains. Since you're going from the region of Liguria to Tuscany the long distance timetable might be what you need, although if you need to connect somewhere it might take a bit of research to figure out a pair of lines that work.

Posted by
3269 posts

Mr E. — You seem like Saturday Night Live’s Gilda Radner as Roseannerosannadanana saying “Never mind.”