Italian Strikes (yet again..)

[D1024]

I have an upcoming trip to Italy and for the third time out of 3 this year its being messed up with strike action.

12th December is an announced strike day and I am needing to travel from Milan to Bolzano. The trains I am currently booked on are not on the list of Guaranteed trains however I can apparently complete the journey using Guaranteed trains changing at Verona Porta Nuova. A couple of questions for the Italian Experts before I rebook or give up and go Flixbus:

Is the Guaranteed Train List the same for all strike days or does it vary?
How reliable are the Guaranteed Trains in actually running?
and finally, is the Milan Metro affected by these strikes?

Thanks for any input!

 

[rvdborgt]

AFAIK the guaranteed list is the same for each day, as long as the strike lasts at least 24 hours.
The Milan metro may or may not be affected. Check their website. Or the strike announcements:

• Commissione Garanzia Sciopero
• Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti

 

[D1024]

Thanks... it appears to be a general national Strike by CGIL Union and less than 24hours (Plus some shorter action by rail unions in the Veneto). The under 24 hours is where I find the information confusing/lacking - do any long distance (FrecciaRosso etc) run? Thinking that Flixbus may be the simplest option.

 

[mtmikethom]

AFAIK the guaranteed list is the same for each day, as long as the strike lasts at least 24 hours.
The Milan metro may or may not be affected. Check their website. Or the strike announcements:

• Commissione Garanzia Sciopero
• Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti

How do you have guaranteed trains during a strike? I thought a strike was a strike

 

[The exile]

How do you have guaranteed trains during a strike? I thought a strike was a strike

In various countries there is a minimum service requirement during strikes. To break that would presumably be akin to the Police going on strike or an Army mutiny. Not impossible- but with (presumably) criminal consequences for individuals and organisations.

 

[rvdborgt]

Thanks... it appears to be a general national Strike by CGIL Union and less than 24hours (Plus some shorter action by rail unions in the Veneto). The under 24 hours is where I find the information confusing/lacking - do any long distance (FrecciaRosso etc) run? Thinking that Flixbus may be the simplest option.

I'm not an expert, but I think I may be wrong in my previous statement: I read somewhere (van't remember where) that the minimum service may not be guaranteed for regional trains when it's under 24 hours. So the guaranteed long-distance trains should run.

 

[nwales58]

Thanks... it appears to be a general national Strike by CGIL Union and less than 24hours (Plus some shorter action by rail unions in the Veneto).

I'm not an expert, but I think I may be wrong in my previous statement: I read somewhere (van't remember where) that the minimum service may not be guaranteed for regional trains when it's under 24 hours. So the guaranteed long-distance trains should run.

I recall the under 24 hours too, for local transport. But:

Treni garantiti in caso di sciopero

Scopri quali servizi Trenitalia sono garantiti durante uno sciopero: treni nazionali e del Regionale attivi, fasce orarie tutelate e regole per i treni già in viaggio.

www.trenitalia.com

As I read it, for long distance there is the guaranteed train list you found plus a different one (not relevant to 12/12/2025, but with a complicated condition on start time and duration). For regional services I cannot see the under 24 hours get-out that I remembered. The guarantees are basically 3 hours morning and evening.

Does anyone have experience of a CGIL (TUC-equivalent) national protest and how much actually stops?

 

[Djgr]

In various countries there is a minimum service requirement during strikes. To break that would presumably be akin to the Police going on strike or an Army mutiny. Not impossible- but with (presumably) criminal consequences for individuals and organisations.

Wasn't BoJo, Lettuce Liz or Sunak proposing something similar for Great Britain?

 

[Tester]

Wasn't BoJo, Lettuce Liz or Sunak proposing something similar for Great Britain?

Indeed so, and it did not survive contact with reality.

 

[D1024]

As the OP I thought I would let you know what actually transpired travelling on a strike day as it may be useful for someone searching in the future.

We were originally booked on a Frecciarosso service Milano Centrale to Verona Port Nuova changing to a Trenord/OBB Railjet from Verona to Bolzano. The Freccia was not on the list of guaranteed trains but the Railjet was on the list on Trenord . As the National strike on the 12th December was less than 24 hours, the information provided by Trenitalia and Trenord was/is not clear whether the guaranteed train list applied or not. However, I rebooked onto EC33 (Zurich to Venezia) for the Milano to Verona portion which is on the list. On the day, observing what was happening at Milano Centrale in the morning showed that the guaranteed trains were running and indeed a number of non-guaranteed long distance ones were as well. I was expecting Centrale to be rather rammed with people but it was all very quiet.

Our train (EC33) left Milano on time and so we made it Verona with no problem. My first ride on an SBB "Giruno" set and it was very pleasant although the interior layout is rather quirky! It was noticeable that there were very few passengers travelling. At Verona it was wait and see what would or wouldnt happen. I had booked a couple of dirt cheap Flix Bus tickets as back-up but despite both DB and OBB train status saying the RJ82 was not running south of Innsbruck the boards at Verona suggested it was. 20 minutes late it duly rolled in and we were on our way to Bolzano with only one other passenger in our coach, eventually arriving 30 mins late. A good outcome!

As regards the Milan Metro - all lines were running apart from the M3 (the main north south line serving Centrale).

My main takeaway from this - the long distance Guaranteed trains do appear to run even though the strike was less than 24 hours, and be prepared to be flexible.

 

[Tester]

As the OP I thought I would let you know what actually transpired travelling on a strike day as it may be useful for someone searching in the future.

We were originally booked on a Frecciarosso service Milano Centrale to Verona Port Nuova changing to a Trenord/OBB Railjet from Verona to Bolzano. The Freccia was not on the list of guaranteed trains but the Railjet was on the list on Trenord . As the National strike on the 12th December was less than 24 hours, the information provided by Trenitalia and Trenord was/is not clear whether the guaranteed train list applied or not. However, I rebooked onto EC33 (Zurich to Venezia) for the Milano to Verona portion which is on the list. On the day, observing what was happening at Milano Centrale in the morning showed that the guaranteed trains were running and indeed a number of non-guaranteed long distance ones were as well. I was expecting Centrale to be rather rammed with people but it was all very quiet.

Our train (EC33) left Milano on time and so we made it Verona with no problem. My first ride on an SBB "Giruno" set and it was very pleasant although the interior layout is rather quirky! It was noticeable that there were very few passengers travelling. At Verona it was wait and see what would or wouldnt happen. I had booked a couple of dirt cheap Flix Bus tickets as back-up but despite both DB and OBB train status saying the RJ82 was not running south of Innsbruck the boards at Verona suggested it was. 20 minutes late it duly rolled in and we were on our way to Bolzano with only one other passenger in our coach, eventually arriving 30 mins late. A good outcome!

As regards the Milan Metro - all lines were running apart from the M3 (the main north south line serving Centrale).

My main takeaway from this - the long distance Guaranteed trains do appear to run even though the strike was less than 24 hours, and be prepared to be flexible.

Thank you for reporting back - this is useful information.