Deepanjali

Hi,

We will be taking the Frecciargento direct train from Venice Mestre(5.30am) to Rome Airport(FCO) (9.52am) on 2nd December 2017.
Our flight departs the same day from Rome airport at 15.10hours.

I have been informed that train strikes and line closures are frequent.

Are the Frecciargento trains impacted by this??

Please guide, i dont want to miss my flight

Dukey1

You were "informed" incorrectly.

PalenQ

I have been informed that train strikes and line closures are frequent.>

He/she was informed correctly as I said:

<I think you should be in rome the night before your flight -maybe hotel at airport - train strikes and line blockages do happen when least expected.>

I should have been more clear such things are not common but can always happen - thus to be in your departure city the night before not leave Venice the morning of an afternoon flight. There have been some train strikes the past year and though usually some trains run many may not.

It would be unusual not common for this to happen but happen they do.

My son coming from Paris airport to his home in Orleans sat for 3 hours at a station when the line was blocked by a man run over by a train.

And there is no train I can find that goes directly Venice Mestre to Rome's Airport - you have to change at Rome Tiburtina.

So IMO yes you should usually have no problem but you never know - be in your departure city the night before IMO.

Deepanjali

Dear PalenQ,

I do understand your concern but the tickets have been booked and i can only hope for the best now

<And there is no train I can find that goes directly Venice Mestre to Rome's Airport - you have to change at Rome Tiburtina>

The direct train was started in 2014 and you can find it on the official Trenitalia website. There are two trains that depart everyday from Venice Mestre DIRECTLY to Rome's Airport train terminal- FCO

PalenQ

OK - you've done the research and my apologies - strikes are ususally announced well in advance so check and yes they are not common - put angst to rest and did not mean to worry you needlessly.

Dukey1

That direct service leaves at oh dark 30 as you pointed out in your original post. I think it is about the only one so you made a good choice because it means you don't have to worry about changing trains/platforms at that mass of swirling humanity otherwise called a train station in Rome.

Enjoy the ride down. Yes, strikes happen and I predict one will not happen to you.

PalenQ

https://www.italiarail.com/strike-information

helpful info and strikes are forecast well in advance so no reason to worry - if you see a strike by rare chance on your day just take a train the day before.

Again sorry to worry you needlessly but

neckervd

At the moment, there are no railway strikes announced for December 2nd.
There may be local railway strikes in Piemonte and Liguria on November 26th and some Alitalia strikes in the first half of December (probably December 1st and 7th).

In the case of a Trenitalia strike, only 4 Trenitalia trains and the 4 Italo trains would run.
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom/Infor...so-di-sciopero

neckervd

Direct trains from Mestre to Fiumicino on December 2nd:
Mestre dp 5.37, 9.37. 4 hrs 15 min journey.

bvlenci

Transportation strikes in Italy must be announced well in advance, and are not allowed to last for more than 24 hours. As of now, there are no railway strikes announced for the 2nd of December. I'm not sure, but I think it's now too late to announce one, less than a month away. Here is the official registry of future transportation strikes.

http://scioperi.mit.gov.it/mit2/public/scioperi

The critical columns are the dates (inizio and fine are beginning and end); the settore (sector, where "ferroviario" is railway); modalità (which gives the hours of the strike); and rilevanza (nazionale means national, and regionale means it affects the region which will be named in the last word of the "categorie" column.)

Many (maybe most) strikes end up getting called off, so if you see a strike that might affect you, keep checking.

As I said, there are no strikes mentioned for the 2nd of December. I would check again in a week, and then I wouldn't worry any more.

Another important thing to know is that whenever there's a railway strike, there are certain trains that are guaranteed to run regardless. You can see if your train is on this list:

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms-file/a...%20TAB%20A.pdf

If so, it will not be cancelled by a strike. You can find the train number on the Trenitalia schedule page. Your train is not on the list, but I wouldn't worry, because, as I said, there doesn't seem to be a strike that day.

Frecciarossa trains run during strikes, even if they're not on the list. Also, the Leonardo da Vinci trains from Termini to the airport always run during strikes.

There are other lists of guaranteed trains, such as lists of regional guaranteed trains, and guaranteed trains for strikes that begin on a weekday and continue into a Sunday or holiday. I don't want to make this post too long, so I've shown just the list that applies to this case.

The next train after yours is a Frecciarossa train, which will be sure to run even if there's a strike.

Someone who's buying tickets three months in advance to find a good discount should try to get a Frecciarossa train, if available. That way they won't have to worry about a strike. Those who are buying tickets closer to the date might want to check the guaranteed trains list and get a train, if possible on that list.

Remember that there are no regional trains on the list. There are separate lists of guaranteed trains for each region, which can be found on this page:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom/Infor...so-di-sciopero

Commuter trains always run during the morning and evening rush hours in spite of strikes.

bvlenci

Obviously, a strike is not the only thing that can make a train run late. I myself tend to be cautious with regard to flights, but I would be fairly comfortable with a five-hour cushion. Most people wouldn't think twice about driving to the airport for a mid-afternoon flight, as long as they leave plenty of time for the unexpected.

This direct train to the airport (calling at several other cities on the way) is heavily advertised as a reliable and fast way to the airport. I think that it would be given priority in almost any emergency for that reason, just as the Frecciarossa trains are given priority.

If for some reason your train is cancelled, I would try to get the ticket changed to the Frecciarossa train that leaves half an hour later. (There is a Frecciarossa desk at the train station.) If you don't have time, I would just get on the Frecciarossa train with your Frecciargento ticket. The worst they could do is fine you, but that wouldn't be as bad as missing your flight. You probably would have to stand all the way, or sit on your suitcase.

PalenQ

Seems December is clear - in retrospect I think taking a day train before would be preferable to getting up at 3-4 am getting transport or walking to Venice Santa Lucia, transferring at Mestre, etc. But as things are you good to go - bvlenci reassures you of that. Sorry for even bringing the issue up but I thought you had not bought tickets as you were considering the night train just a few days ago.

Again sorry for mentioning anything.

Deepanjali

Dear PalenQ .. no need to apologize.. you were only raising concern which seemed very valid, and only when u did raise it did I went on deeper to research on it..! So no hard feelings

And Thank you all for such great info u have provided.. really appreciate..

MmePerdu

Following this discussion and leaving for Rome tomorrow, some websites are announcing a "general strike" for Nov. 10th. Alitalia customer service tells me they know nothing about a strike on that date. I have an Alitalia flight out of Rome on Nov. 10th and, for those of you who are familiar with these things, if I bought a ticket on another airline (Egyptair) is it just as likely their flights would also be disrupted?

In a long travel life I've been lucky to never have been caught up in a strike (or any other big delays for that matter) so am clueless.

PalenQ

With national strikes ATMs can run out of money too -happened to us long ago in Italy - national strike + a weekend - lucky to find ATM finally with euros - always keep some euros cash on you if national strikes are previewed.

bvlenci

Strikes usually don't affect extra-EU flights. Where does your flight originate?

That said, there's no guarantee regarding general strikes. Sometimes they have almost no effect, with minimal participation. Other times there have maximum participation, and they could have effects other than on your flight. (Baggage handling, for example.)

There <b>is</b> a general strike in program for that day. It could still be called off, though. Keep checking the link I furnished in my response above.

bvlenci

I've never had an ATM run out of money in the 19 years I've lived in Italy. I have a few times been unable to make a withdrawal because of network outages, though. There are so many ATMs, if one runs out of money, just go to another. A network outage can affect all the banks in an area. When I'm traveling, I try not to let my wallet get down to the last few euros. Fortunately, most places now accept credit cards.

MmePerdu

Yes, bvlenci, I will keep checking, thanks.

This Alitalia flight originates at FCO, to Cairo.

I'll hope for the best and have decided not to buy another ticket. It'll cost me either way, worst case scenario, not showing up for my first night in Cairo, canceling arrangements next day, finding a place to stay in Rome if I don't get out...I just don't have a handle on all the permutations of this sort of situation. No point in throwing money at it now, I guess, if it may not help.

Thanks again.

PalenQ

I've never had an ATM run out of money in the 19 years I've lived in Italy.>

Well it happened to us in Florence during a national strike - we finally did manage to find one but many were out of money.