Strike Notification?

Noticed this today as well and was wondering the same, except I’ll be on the train that day.

Entrepreneurs do not strike, but employees could so there could be long lines to pick cars.

I’ll be on the train

It could be a problem if you are taking a Regionale train not running during rush hours.

Thanks, Dario. It seems I am having bad luck with the timing of my trip and the strike schedule. Thanks for the heads up about the possibility of long lines if individual workers go out. My pick-up time is 10 am -- maybe I will try to arrive a little earlier. I am not a good traveler and uncertainties like this really do a number on my mental health!

What is the best source for strike info? I arrive in Milan on Apr 28.

Thanks!

Daphne, this is the website that I've been getting my information from: http://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi
Roberto (helpful contributor on this site) confirmed that this is a good one. It is in Italian but my software automatically translates it for me. But even if only in Italian you can pretty much understand the salient points.

HELP! Thankfully, I just found this thread and I have 2 questions:
1. We fly into Rome on the morning of May 2 and were going by train to Bologna that day. The strike schedule for May 2 says:

national strike
all day from May 2 to May 3
general strike for public employment
FISI labor union

WILL WE STILL BE ABLE TO: 1). GET TO ROMA TERMINI FROM THE AIRPORT, AND THEN (most importantly), 2). GET A TRAIN INTO BOLOGNA THAT DAY ????

1. There is railway strike on May 5 from 9PM to May 6 at 9PM; it says:

   national
   railway
   CMC labor union
   machine staff Soc.
   Mercitalia

DOES THIS MEAN THAT THE TRAINS WILL NOT BE RUNNING THAT DAY?? We had scheduled a day trip from Bologna to Ferrara that day.

Kay, I am far from an expert on this topic (I'm the original poster) but what I have learned thus far is that during train strikes there is a guaranteed level of service between 6-9 am and 6-9 pm AND that long-distance, national AKA high speed trains) are safe from strikes. On Trenitalia, high-speed trains are designated as Alta Velocità (AV), and are broken down into three categories: Frecciarossa (“Red Arrow”), Frecciargento (“Silver Arrow”), and Frecciabianca (“White Arrow”). My particular train is a Frecciarossa so I am optimistic that I will NOT be affected. So I guess you need to figure out if your train(s) fall under either of these categories. I'm sure someone will chime in here soon to help with a more precise answer.

Thanks so much, joeandrose!

I didn't realize that the high speed trains were exempt from strikes; that REALLY puts my mind at ease. There are several to Bologna.
I'm sure there will be a way to get from the airport to the train station (Uber?) if the express train isn't running.. The trains to Ferrara are local, but we could go early/stay late to fit the 6-9, 6-9 time frame.

Also, here is a direct link to Trenitalia where they give updates on strike situations. Right now you can read the status of one coming up on April 22nd. Trenitalia advises that this strike does NOT affect long-distance (i.e. "national" trains aka high-speed trains). Only "treni regionali" (unreserved trains) are affected outside of the guaranteed timeframes.this would be a good place to check back with periodically for updates and info from the horse's mouth.

https://www.trenitalia.com/it/informazioni/Infomobilita/notizie-infomobilita.html.html

general strike for public employment

Trenitalia's workers are not public employees.

Mercitalia

Unless you are travelling with containers and barrels instead of suitcases, I wouldn't worry about a company that works on freight trains,

So much good information here and thanks to all! The direct link on Trenitalia to strike info. is very helpful, and I will bookmark it.

Didn't realize mercitalia was a freight train! Live and learn... We're not packing crates, but we might want barrels for wine on the way home LOL!

I've wondered this myself. A strike is scheduled on one of our transit days. I've looked online and I've gotten advice from the forum. Until we hit the ground, I don't really know what to expect. I think we just have to be fast on our feet and throw ourselves on the mercy of strangers. Our hotel is close to the station and the concierge might be helpful. It seems like there will probably be some trains running and we need to be informed and nimble. Or, I might be mistaken and maybe we end up on a bus. I'm not fond of uncertainty while I travel but this seems to be out of my control. Another adventure...

Yes, CT -- I know what you mean about adventure. We seem to ALWAYS have one when we visit Italy. Last time, we came close to driving down a flight of steps outside of Perugia -- as we blindly followed our GPS. I'm a bit of a control freak and like to have everything figured out -- so I'm not well wired for adventure. Fortunately, I love Italy too much to let it stand in my way.

We've experienced strikes a couple of times in Italy, once at the Rome airport, and one time affecting trains. People we know in Italy have told us that they refer to these strikes as "banker's holidays" since they usually occur on a Friday and make for a long weekend, which is why we avoid train and air travel on a Friday in Italy.

mont3589, good tip to keep in mind for future trips especially your landing date.

Italotreno's workers have gone on strike once in 10 years. I'd travel with them even on Fridays without worries.

Good advice, Dario!

We are flying Rome to Catania on May 2nd.
Therenis a national public sector strike on that day.
Are air traffic controllers public sector?