Railways, Florence on hold 24 and 25 January: what happens to high-speed trains
For 24 hours Italy cut in two between Firenze Rifredi and Firenze Campo di Marte for the replacement of a bridge. Major impact for travellers
by Marco Morino
Key points
Italy's railways will be split in two at the weekend for major works at the Florence junction, which will also block the main station of Santa Maria Novella and disrupt the high-speed North-South connections. Traffic will be suspended between Firenze Rifredi and Firenze Campo di Marte from 3 p.m. on Saturday 24 January to 3 p.m. on Sunday 25 January for work on the Ponte al Pino road overpass, which crosses the railway. The bridge will be closed, also for pedestrians, from 8 p.m. on Friday 23 to 5 a.m. on Monday 26 January.
In view of the planned interruption for work on the bridge, Rfi has decided to carry out switch renewal work at the Firenze Santa Maria Novella station on 24 and 25 January. These activities will result in major changes to long-distance and regional connections also on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, in addition to the changes planned during the suspension of traffic between Rifredi and Campo di Marte.
Shuttle bus transfers
In practice, with Santa Maria Novella inaccessible, the Frecciarossa (Trenitalia) and Italo trains arriving in Florence from the south (Naples/Rome) stop at Firenze Campo di Marte, then take the shuttle bus to Firenze Rifredi and depart again in the north direction; for those arriving in Florence from the north (Milan/Bologna), get off at Rifredi, board the shuttle bus to Campo di Marte and depart again by train. The estimated transfer time for the bus journey, plus re-boarding the train for all passengers, is approximately 45 minutes. Bus transfers are free of charge.
Trains reduced by 50%
On the railway front, during the interruption Rfi has planned the work by reducing the number of trains scheduled by approximately 50%. Circulation will be guaranteed with a train every hour in each direction; in addition, every hour a train will run from Firenze Rifredi towards Milan and one from Firenze Campo di Marte towards Rome. The available slots have been distributed evenly between Trenitalia and Italo.
Deviations on the Tyrrhenian line
Trains that will continue to run will experience an increase in journey times of at least one hour. Some connections will be routed on the Tyrrhenian line, with increases in journey times of up to two hours. All changes, Fs explained, have been included in the Trenitalia and Italo sales systems, so as to guarantee maximum transparency for travellers.
