European railways in collapse: Wave of strikes paralyses transport in France and Italy
Co-ordinated union action this Wednesday and Thursday is bringing mass cancellations of trains on key routes.
Business and tourist travel planning in Western Europe this week is encountering serious obstacles. French and Italian Railway workers They started a wave Protest which will cause chaos in the coming days and force many travellers to cancel or drastically change their plans.
French trade unions demand urgent changes: Strike on TGV and regional lines
French national operator SNCF is facing significant cuts to its timetable. Action led by the four largest unions (CGT-Cheminots, UNSA-Ferroviaire, SUD-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots) officially begins on Tuesday evening and will last until Thursday morning. The reasons are not solely financial; the unions warn of an alarming state of workplaces, increased stress, burnout, and frequent workplace accidents.
It is estimated that at the height of the strike, only two out of three high-speed trains (TGV INOUI and OUIGO) will run, which directly affects international lines to neighbouring countries, such as the TGV Lyria lines. The situation is even worse on regional and Intercités lines, where the number of departures is expected to be halved, and in some regions, traffic will be completely paralysed.
Italy introduces a legal minimum, but delays are inevitable
As soon as the situation in France calms down somewhat, the wave of discontent moves to the other side of the Alps. The Italian state railway system, led by companies Trenitalia, Trenord, and Trenitalia Tper, is entering a 23-hour strike in the early hours of Thursday. As the protest only ends late on Friday night, tails of delays are sure to be felt throughout the coming weekend.
Unlike France, Italy has strict legal regulations in place to protect passengers during peak hours. Traffic is legally guaranteed in the mornings (6:00 AM to 9:00 AM) and evenings (6:00 PM to 9:00 PM). Despite this, mass cancellations are expected outside of these hours, which will put immense pressure on local transit and associated transfers to airports.
What does this mean for agencies and passenger rights?
Both operators have initiated damage mitigation protocols. SNCF is already contacting affected passengers, offering them the option of a full refund or a free exchange of tickets for other dates. Italian Trenitalia is applying similar rules, allowing rebooking under the same conditions or refunds if passengers decide to cancel their trip.
