Railways: works at the Florence hub, but the situation is under control. Disruption at Milano Centrale: delays and cancellations
Work is now in full swing on the replacement of the Ponte al Pino road overpass. Numerous trains are being diverted along the Tyrrhenian line
Key points
- Giani: ‘National emergency’
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It’s been a difficult start to the week for train travellers. As well as the disruption caused by engineering works on the high-speed line near Florence – which will split Italia in two for a few days – the week has also got off to a bad start in Lombardy. A fault at Milano Centrale station, which occurred on the morning of Monday 6 July, is causing delays of up to an hour and the cancellation of several services. This is the information being announced to passengers at stations. Trenord is also reporting delays between Varese and Gallarate (Varese) stations. From 9.10 am, ‘traffic has been slowed down in the Milan hub due to technical checks on the overhead line at Milano Centrale’, according to the Trenitalia (FS Group) website. ‘High-speed, Intercity, Eurocity and regional trains may experience journey times up to 40 minutes longer.’ Services are now reportedly gradually returning to normal following the technical checks.
Meanwhile, work by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) to replace the Ponte al Pino road overpass at the Florence railway junction is now in full swing. The works will require two separate periods of rail service disruption, necessary to allow, in the first phase, the removal of the existing deck and, subsequently, the installation of the new structure.
The first phase is scheduled from 11.00 pm on Sunday 5 July to 4.00 am on Friday 10 July; the second from 11 pm on Sunday 26 July to 11 am on Thursday 30 July. During both periods, rail services will be suspended on the Florence Campo di Marte–Florence Rifredi and Florence Campo di Marte–Florence Santa Maria Novella routes, affecting national services passing through the Tuscan capital, including high-speed trains (Frecciarossa and Italo).
The dreaded ‘Black Monday’ began with the inevitable disruption for travellers and city traffic, but at least in the early hours of the morning, the organisational arrangements put in place by Ferrovie dello Stato, the City Council, the Civil Protection Agency and the municipal police seem to be holding up under the strain. At Campo di Marte station, the flow of passengers is continuous. Regional trains are disgorging hundreds of commuters and travellers who, as soon as they emerge from the underpass, are met by dozens of Ferrovie dello Stato staff – easily recognisable by their red bibs – busy providing directions in both Italian and English. Temporary signage guides travellers towards replacement services, whilst railway staff, Civil Protection volunteers and municipal police officers are stationed at the most critical points to prevent delays and manage the flow of passengers.
The work on the Pino bridge, explains a statement from RFI, represents a significant milestone in the process of renovating and enhancing the safety of a strategic piece of infrastructure for urban mobility, which connects the centre of Florence with the Campo di Marte area. The works were planned well in advance and agreed with the relevant institutions and local authorities, with the aim of managing the impact on rail and urban transport in a coordinated manner.
