My family and I will be arriving in Rome on March 15th--supposedly right in the middle of the 24 hour strike. We were planning on going straight to Florence upon arrival. Does this strike mean no trains will run that day? I've been to Italy twice and been fortunate to miss a strike. Would it be better to try a bus? (not that we'll be the only ones trying that) Any advice...
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Trentialia has agreements with the unions that will keep many essential trains running. There are 53 trains a day from Rome to Florence. I see all 53 on the website for 3/15 but I'm betting that Trenitalia doesn't have a strike schedule posted. The following is taken directly from the Trenitalia website.
Essential services in the event of strike (law no.146 of june 12, 1990
On days when strikes are held Trenitalia guarantees minimum transport services provided as a result of agreements with trade unions and as considered appropriate by the Commission responsible for guaranteeing the implementation of Law 146/1990.
For local transport in particular, essential services have been planned for the peak time-bands (from 06:00 to 09:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00 Mon-Sat). Some long-distance trains are also guaranteed on all days including holidays.
If trains that are travelling when a strike begins are not cancelled at their departure station, they will normally reach their final destination – provided those stations can be reached within one hour from the strike’s beginning. After this one hour, trains may stop and terminate at stations before the train’s final destination.
In addition to the essential services, Trenitalia can provide additional services, on which information is given by notices at railway stations, the media and on this website.
Since unpredictable changes (e.g. change of route for long-distance trains) could also occur during a strike, customers are kindly requested to pay special attention to the notices given at the stations and by the media.
Posted by
Milwaukie, Oregon
1056 posts
My hubby and I were in Florence last year and heard that a train strike was to occur the following day. The ticket seller advised us to show up anyhow, that announced strikes didn't always happen, so that's what we did. We were pleased to find everything working as usual.
Posted by
DC
209 posts
Good for you, looking up the strike information in advance! I don't even remember to do that every time. haha.
They do still run trains during a strike, but it is erratic. If you are on a tight schedule for something, I can see how that would be stressful.
I wound up just watching the flip-board schedule thing waiting for a train home to show up one evening. Both the trains and the vaporetti went on strike the same day. Fun! I didn't think getting stuck in Venice overnight would be the worst thing to ever happen to me. But if you've been planning your dream vacation, maybe you want to allow for the possibility that your itinerary could change.
It does sound like you have a good chance of staying on schedule just fine though!