Holly - After looking at some AV trains for Milan/Rome, not all stop in Bologna or Florence. A few do and you can tell by how long the train takes (ones that stop take 30 minutes longer). Just make sure it's one from the strike-proof list.

Use this link to determine your train for Bologna to Florence.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

Use this link for you Florence to Pisa trains and scroll down until you see the list "linea Firenze - Pisa - Livorno". Keep in mind that some of the trains listed as Florence to Livorno stop at Pisa Centrale so you must check them out by the method I gave above (dummy booking, click details, click train number) if you want to use one of those trains.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

The problem with trying to find a bus the entire way (Emilia Romagna to Tuscany) is that most of them in Italy only operate regionally. There are few companies that do longer runs between regions.

bookmarking

Holly, In your first post you said, "I'm trying to schedule my traveling to avoid strike days altogether."

Wouldn't that be simpler than all the fussing around with guaranteed trains? Do you *have* to travel from Bologna to Pisa - not the most intuitive route to start with, since they are on two different lines - on March 15?

If they strike they strike. Sometimes not just the trains but also the buses strike. And sometimes even if there is no strike the train still may not come or be 5 hours late. Sometimes a demonstration in another city can tweak the system. Sometimes you are on a train and it just stops. It's Italy, just try to go with the flow and deal with the transport once you get here. Try not to stress about it, you will eventually get where you want to go :)

Not sure what your "not the most intuitive route" means, Zerlina. The simple answer is, that's where I'm going. I start my trip in Bologna, then I have a hotel reservation in Pisa on Sunday, then on to Lucca, then Florence, etc. Had I realized ahead of time that there was a strike scheduled for Sunday, I would've tweaked my itinerary to accommdate that. As it stands right now, the trip is less than 3 weeks away. I'd rather not rearrange hotel reservations, but I will if I have to.

I've had the experience often enough of delayed trains and last minute canceled trains and such in Italy, that I've learned to try to have a backup plan ready ahead of time, which is what I'm doing here. I really prefer not to have to hang out at a train station for hours on end if it can be avoided.

kybourbon, I've tried a number of combinations using your links, and have not come up with anything really workable, but I do appreciate your input.

There is another list of trains guaranteed (Google translated so someone correct me if I'm wrong)to run (click the link above the one ellen gave/translated) that are listed as long distance trains. Your possiblities from that list are:

9463 leaving Bologna at 8:25 (ES)
9429 leaving Bologna at 9:39 (ES/AV)
703 leaving Bologna at 11:02 but arrives Florence Rifredi not SMN (ICPlus) - you would have to taxi to SMN
591 leaving Bologna at 13:13 also arrives Rifredi (IC)

Here is the link for that list:
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

Your choices for Florence to Pisa are:
23351 - 23352 Firenze S. M. Novella 7.57 Pisa Centrale
23409 Firenze S. M. Novella 8.05 Pisa Centrale
3111 Firenze S. M. Novella 8.27 Livorno Centrale
3147 Firenze S. M. Novella 18.27 Livorno Centrale
23371/23372 Firenze S. M. Novella 18.57 Pisa Centrale
11733 Firenze S. M. Novella 19.37 Pisa Centrale
23349 Firenze S. M. Novella 19.57 Livorno Centrale
23461 Firenze S. M. Novella 20.27 Pisa Centrale

Most of these trains are local R trains and no seat reservations. If you can book class (not all will have a class choice) I would spring the couple of bucks for 1st). You would need to double check that the ones to Livorno stop in Pisa, but I think they all do. Trains will probably not run on time. Note that a few of the Florence/Pisa trains listed make a stop at Florence Rifredi so you wouldn't have to change train stations if you took the two IC trains from Bologna.

The Lazzi bus from Florence to Pisa (pages 1 & 2):
http://www.lazzi.it/public/documenti/FI_LU_PI92004.pdf

Notice the ones with highlighted are the ones quaranteed to run in case of strike. You may have to change buses in Lucca. This has buses highlighted for Florence/Lucca (make sure you choose one that stops in Lucca as not all do).
http://www.lazzi.it/public/documenti/FI_VG_SP92004.pdf

>>Not sure what your "not the most intuitive route" means, Zerlina.<<

There's no need to get upset. I meant simply what I said: they are on two different lines.

If you go to the top of this thread, you might notice that I was the one who pointed out to you in the first place that there was a strike scheduled for March 14/15...

kyb - I see a possibility there with the 8:25 out of Bologna. I understand there's also a bus from F SMN to the Pisa airport, which may work if the Lazzi doesn't. I will email that outfit to see what their schedule is. Thank you for looking at this so closely.

Zerlina, I'm not upset. Your choice of words just struck me as odd. It wasn't clear to me what your point was with that comment. And, yes, I'm well aware that it was you who pointed out the strike on the 14/15. On the link that I posted that I have been looking at for the past 2 weeks and was looking at the wrong dates! The irony of that has not been lost on me. It also occurred to me that you may have thought I was headed to Pisa from Bologna just as a day trip, which would be a rather dumb thing to do on the day of a train strike. At any rate, I consider you a valuable poster to this board, and I hope you'll continue to help me out if I post any more links that I obviously don't know how to read. :D

If you are talking about the Terravison bus, it used to be limited to people flying on certain budget airlines and required you to show your airline ticket (I e-mailed them a few years ago and that was their response). This may have changed though and I don't see it anywhere on their website.
http://www.terravision.eu/florence_pisa.html

Well, that would stink. I emailed them earlier, and will post back with whatever I find out.

Maybe the drivers accept ... gratuities.

Holly, just an FYI the bus to Pisa from SMN is very good and cheap BUT is not always on time and has also been known to not always show up for scheduled departures, so you may want to keep that in mind.

My Italian is pretty rusty...are the Eurostar overnight trains (Venice to Paris) immune from strikes?

Thanks

kasia, I suspect Venice to Paris would be immune since it is an international route rather than a national one. But I'm not positive.

kasialouise - This should be the link for the international trains that are quaranteed. I see a couple of Venice/Paris trains. See if your train number is listed.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD