Thousands of passengers were stranded, and dozens of trains faced delays and cancellations on Wednesday morning following a technical issue in Rome. The train disruption will have severe knock-on effects.
Train commuters in Italy experienced severe disruptions after services came to a halt at the capital’s two main train stations, Termini and Tiburtina. Both stations, major hubs for Italy’s rail network, were unable to operate, causing widespread chaos across the country.
The problem began at around 6:30 am local time when an unidentified fault affected the line between the two stations. Departure boards went dark, leaving hundreds of passengers unsure of their train’s status and prompting concerns of a cyberattack.
One frustrated commuter took to X to describe the situation: “Simply put, you don’t know from which platform your train is leaving. But you can always board a random one—you might be lucky.”
Another passenger reported being stranded on a platform for over 90 minutes, saying, “The staff doesn’t know what to tell us anymore. Dozens of trains have been cancelled. It will take hours, if not days, to return to normal. It’s a collapse!”
National rail operator Trenitalia confirmed that train traffic remained “heavily disrupted” and advised passengers to reschedule their journeys. At least 22 high-speed and intercity routes have been suspended, with 14 others partially cancelled. Major lines such as Naples-Milan, Rome-Naples, Rome-Milan, Milan-Salerno, Florence-Rome, and Rome-Turin were all impacted.
Some trains are facing delays of up to 180 minutes.
The train disruption also follows a separate issue on Tuesday when Milan Bergamo airport saw all flights cancelled after a Ryanair plane suffered a tyre explosion on landing, blocking the runway.
