Hi all. I leave for Italy tomorrow. My niece will land at FCO in the morning on the 8th and will catch the train to Orvieto to join me, but apparently there's a train strike planned that day. I know from previous strikes that some trains still run, but don't know if she will be impacted. We're leaving Chiusi to return to Rome on the 13, and apparently there's another possible strike that day. Again, I can't find anything telling me if that will disrupt our plans. Can anyone help me understand this? It's her first time solo(ish) traveling, so I want to make it as seamless as possible for her and this forum was so helpful when I ran into a train strike in Italy last fall, so I'm hoping someone can provide reassurance once again. Thank you!
Posted by
Chicago
8181 posts
Remove doubt and take the bus
https://global.flixbus.com/bus-routes/bus-rome-orvieto
Posted by
Southeast of Seattle
732 posts
Hopefully someone with more expertise will weigh in, but it looks like it is a general strike day for darn near everything except air related. Remember though that certain trains WILL run, but I don’t know how to decipher which will and which won’t. I don’t think she will be stranded and will arrive in Orvieto sometime that day. Also, the strikes may or may not happen. It will work out with maybe just a bit more planning than originally thought.
Posted by
OP
MD
648 posts
Remove doubt and take the bus
Unfortunately, her plane lands early in the morning, but there's only one bus to Orvieto and it runs late in the evening, so that won't work. It looks like there's a bus going from Tiburtina to Perugia that morning and another to Todi around noon, but I can't find anything closer (I checked Viterbo, Chiusi and Terni among others).
I'll have a rental car, but won't drive in the city or in busy/hectic traffic, so I can pick her up one of those places. It's not an ideal plan, but such is life....
I have no idea how we'll get from Chiusi to Rome after I drop the rental car off on the 13 if trains aren't running. Does anyone know how I might manage that?
Posted by
New Jersey
217 posts
Perhaps this will be useful. It is a link to the Trenitalia website where they list the trains that are GUARANTEED to run even during a strike. On this page you will find links to PDF files that show NATIONAL trains that are guaranteed on weekdays and holidays. Further down on the page they list the REGIONAL trains that are also guaranteed after you select the region you are in.
https://www.trenitalia.com/it/informazioni/treni_garantiti_incasodisciopero.html
Posted by
OP
MD
648 posts
Thank you joeandrose, that was helpful. Since she lands in the morning on the 8th, it doesn't look like the mandatory trains are a great option. If I read the list correctly, she wouldn't be able to catch a train to Perugia or Foligno until 5-6ish in the evening.
I'm thinking about having her take an Uber from Roma Termini to somewhere outside of town so I could drive to pick her up. I do not feel comfortable driving too close to the city, but I can pick her up somewhere not far off the freeway.
The Leonardo Express from FCO to Roma Termini will still run even if there's a strike, right? And Ubers will still operate?
And I haven't even looked further into what might be going on on the 13th yet...
I appreciate the helpfulness I find here on the forum!
It's all rather stressful, but then I remind myself that to be stressed about how to get around in Italy is still a pretty nice thing....
Posted by
New Jersey
217 posts
KRS, glad that the link was a bit helpful but didn't really solve the problem in terms of your daughter's needs. Yes, you are correct -- the Leonardo Express runs even during a strike. This is what I've read on multiple sites with one caveat on a particular website stating that they could substitute a bus.
Years ago I too ran into a strike which I knew in advance was a possibility on a day that I was trying to get from Venice to Florence. I made a backup plan in advance for a rental car in Venice which I did end up needing. Unfortunately, although I requested an automatic they only had standard transmission. I hadn't driven a stick in over 20 years but just like riding a bike it kind of came back to me. But let me tell you it was rather nerve-racking and I never figured out how to engage the transmission to go into reverse. Ended up having to push it backwards out of a parking space at the Autogrill. I kissed the ground when I arrived in Florence in one piece!