Florence rail node to close for two summer windows, adding up to 2.5 hours to Rome–Milan journeys
Two separate nine-day closures of the Florence railway node, starting tonight, will force long-distance trains onto slower coastal routes and add up to two and a half hours to journeys between Rome and Milan.
What is happening
From 23:00 on Sunday 5 July, the Florence railway node will be partially shut down for the first of two planned closures to replace the 140-year-old "Ponte al Pino" road overpass. The structure, which once marked the boundary between free and Nazi-occupied Florence, will be dismantled and replaced with a new steel-and-concrete bridge 32 metres long and 16 metres wide. A 1,600-tonne crane, roughly 70 metres tall, will carry out the work.
The first phase, removing the old deck, runs from 23:00 on 5 July until 04:00 on 10 July. A second phase to install the new span is scheduled from 23:00 on 26 July to 11:00 on 30 July. During both windows, all rail traffic between Firenze Campo di Marte and Firenze Rifredi, and between Campo di Marte and Santa Maria Novella, will be suspended.
How journeys will change
Long-distance high-speed, Intercity and Eurocity services will be rerouted via the slower Tyrrhenian coastal line. Two trains per hour will run on the Rome–Milan/Turin corridor, with journey times extended by up to two hours and 30 minutes. Overall, about half of the trains normally passing through the Florence node will be cancelled or rescheduled.
Four trains per hour will continue to serve Firenze Santa Maria Novella for northbound connections to Milan, Brescia, Bolzano and Venice. Three trains per hour will depart from Firenze Campo di Marte towards the south, serving Rome, Naples, Salerno, Reggio Calabria, Bari and Taranto. Replacement buses will link Campo di Marte and the Montelungo area from 6 to 9 July, operating between 07:00 and 22:00 (from 06:00 on Monday), with an expected delay of around one hour and 30 minutes.
Ponte al Pino is 140 years old and must be replaced. We have recommended smart working for everyone who can. Those who cannot and will travel to Florence should check train times. These will be days of great difficulty.
Wider rail works
The Florence intervention is one of roughly 1,300 active construction sites on the Italian network, according to RFI, the rail infrastructure manager. The wave of works is driven partly by deadlines linked to the national recovery plan (PNRR), alongside ordinary maintenance, copper theft and extreme weather. Around 10,000 trains operate across Italy each day, making any major node closure a national event.
- First closure begins: rail traffic suspended between Campo di Marte and Rifredi/Santa Maria Novella.
- Replacement bus service starts between Campo di Marte and Montelungo (07:00–22:00).
- First phase ends; normal service resumes until the second closure.
- Second closure begins for installation of the new bridge deck.
- Second phase ends; all restrictions lifted.
