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What you need to know about Italy's national train strike on Friday

The Local Italy
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What you need to know about Italy's national train strike on Friday
Waiting for a train in Milan's central station. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Travelling by train in Italy this week? You might need to rethink your journey.

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A nationwide train strike has been called from midnight until 9 pm on Friday, November 29th.

It will affect both Trenitalia and Italo services in all regions of Italy.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about train travel in Italy

Local services will operate on a reduced timetable between the hours of 6-9 am and 6-9 pm, while other delays and cancellations are expected throughout the day.

Trenitalia says it does not expect its long-distance or high-speed Frecce trains to be affected, but passengers are advised to check the latest updates before setting off.


Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

Italo has guaranteed that at least half of its trains will run: find the list here (PDF). Passengers have the option to switch to another service or request a full refund by contacting the company's customer service.

Meanwhile connections to Rome's Fiumicino Airport and Malpensa Airport in Milan are guaranteed on Friday, with buses replacing trains if necessary. Travellers should allow extra time for the journey.

What are your rights if your train is delayed or cancelled?

Both Trenitalia and Italo offer compensation if your train is more than an hour late, starting at 25 percent of the ticket price for delays of 60-119 minutes and rising to 50 percent from 120 minutes.

Alternatively, if your train is expected to be an hour or more late and you decide not to travel, you can request a full refund.

For Trenitalia's high-speed Frecciarossa, Frecciargento and Frecciabianca trains, compensation kicks in from 30 minutes' delay.


Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP

In the case of cancellations, you are entitled to a refund (and in certain circumstances, if you find yourself stranded because of a missed connection, a free transfer back to your starting station). Whether you get all or only part of the ticket price back depends on whether you've already begun your journey, whether it's outward or return leg, and whether you can switch to an alternative train.

If you'd like to travel on a different service, ask the nearest Trenitalia or Italo ticket agents at the station.  

Italo credits compensation and refunds automatically in the form of digital vouchers, which customers have the option to convert to money. Passengers on Trenitalia can apply for money back using this form.

Other strike action in Italy this week

The nationwide train strike will be preceded by a public transport strike in Milan on Thursday, November 28th, which will affect metro, bus and tram services from 8:45 am to 3 pm then again from 6 pm to the end of service.

Workers at public transport company ATM are protesting against the "liberalization and privatization" of Milan's local public transport.

READ ALSO: 

In Rome, public transport won't be affected but schools will. Teachers' union SISA has called a strike on Friday that is expected to see nurseries, schools and universities closed for the day. 

Meanwhile the train strike comes as part of a general strike by the USB union, which represents workers in the public sector and others.

The industrial action, called to protest ongoing uncertainty over a deal to sell the huge, highly polluting steel plant in the southern city of Taranto, is expected to affect public services all over Italy on Friday.

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