Passengers travelling to, from or across Italy by train face delays or cancellations on Monday as staff at state-owned railway company Ferrovie dello Stato (which includes Trenitalia and Trenord) and private long-distance operator Italo said they would strike for a total of eight hours: from 9am to 5pm.
The walkout was called in mid-January by two of the largest transport trade unions in the country, CUB and SGB, in protest against working conditions and recent attempts at privatising the railway sector.
Monday’s strike is expected to affect all types of rail travel, from long-distance services to regional and local ones.
As is usually the case with transport strikes in Italy, the level of disruption on Monday will vary by city and operator.
However, even in the case of a highly disruptive walkout, rail travel across Italy won’t come to a screeching halt on Monday as under national strike laws transport operators are required to guarantee a minimum number of services (servizi essenziali) during protests.
The exact time and frequency of these services will once again vary by city and operator.
All passengers planning to travel by train in Italy on Monday are advised to check the status of their service via the operator's website or app before setting off.
Trenitalia
National rail operator Trenitalia said in a statement that their services “may experience cancellations or changes” from 9am to 5pm, though the walkout may also “result in service variations both before its start and after its end”.
They also said that “no changes to long-distance Trenitalia trains are expected” but advised passengers to check the status of their services via their mobile app or website during the day.
A full list of guaranteed Trenitalia services on Monday is available here.
Trenitalia trains that happen to be en route to their destination after the start of the walkout will reach their destination only if it is reachable within an hour. If not, they may stop their journey at the first available station.
Italo
Private long-distance operator Italo hasn’t provided conrete details as to how Monday’s walkout may affect their services.
However, they’ve released a list of services that will be protected from strike action (these are highlighted in green and marked as garantito).
Italo trains’ live status can be found on their app or website.
Trenord
Trenord, which operates a number of regional trains in the Lombardy region, including connections to and from Milan’s Malpensa Airport, has said that “regional, suburban, long-distance and airport services may experience changes and/or cancellations”.
Trenord does not guarantee the operation of minimum services on Monday as the walkout falls outside of the ‘protected time slots’ (fasce di garanzia) for regional operators.
However, should airport services be cancelled, replacement buses will run the same routes.
See Trenord’s website or app for the latest updates.
What to do if your train is cancelled
If a pre-booked rail journey is cancelled due to strike action in Italy, passengers are normally allowed to travel on equivalent services. If no alternative service is available, passengers will be entitled to a refund.
Passengers travelling with Trenitalia will need to request a refund either at the railway station or by using this web form. For Italo, refunds are usually issued automatically.
Keep up with the latest updates in The Local's strike news section.
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