Railway workers in Italy carried out a 24-hour strike beginning at 9:18 p.m. on September 7 and ending at 9:00 p.m. on September 8, 2026. The walkout involved staff from Trenitalia, the state-owned Gruppo FS Italiane’s subsidiary Trenitalia Tper, the private operator Italo, and regional companies Trenord in Lombardy and Trenitalia Tper in Emilia-Romagna.
The strike affected national rail operations including high-speed Frecce trains and regional services. Basic regional train services were maintained during the “fasce di garanzia” windows on weekdays, which ran from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Outside these hours, train cancellations,
delays, and rerouting were frequent. High-speed and long-distance trains lacked guaranteed schedules. Trenitalia published a list of trains confirmed to run during the strike. Italo’s strike ended one minute before others, at 9:17 p.m. on September 8.
Passengers holding tickets for canceled trains were entitled to full refunds or free rebooking options. Refund claims for Frecce and Intercity trains could be submitted from the strike announcement until the train’s original departure time. For regional trains, refund requests needed to be made by midnight before the strike day. Trenitalia, Italo, and Trenord provided online forms for refund processing, with repayments made
within several business days.
The strike received support from multiple labor unions including CUB Trasporti, SGB, ORSA Ferrovie, and the Assemblea nazionale del Personale di Macchina e di Bordo. These unions demanded improved wages, better shift work conditions, reduced workload, and enhanced safety standards for rail staff.
Simultaneously, regional rail worker protests and public transport suspensions took place in Piedmont and Trentino-South Tyrol starting prior to the national strike’s kickoff on September 7 afternoon. In South Tyrol, city public transportation was also halted. Additional strike actions were scheduled across Italy during September, affecting aviation on September 13 and 30, public
transport on September 15, and a general strike on September 26.
Travelers were urged to check the status of their specific trains in advance due to the irregular operation schedules caused by the strike. The disruptions notably affected routes connecting Turin, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, and Salerno. Passengers using regional trains near major cities such as Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples, and Bologna also faced challenges outside the guaranteed service windows. Travelers were advised not to rely on general timetables and to consider alternate transport plans.
