From 15:00 on Saturday 24 January until 15:00 on Sunday 25 January, all high-speed and conventional trains between Florence Rifredi and Florence Campo di Marte will be suspended while engineers demolish and replace the 19th-century Ponte al Pino rail overpass. Trenitalia and Italo have jointly organised fleets of shuttle buses between the two stations, but national rail operator RFI cautions that journeys between Rome and Milan may take up to two hours longer, with some services diverted onto the older Tyrrhenian coastal line.
The 24-hour blockade is part of a €100 million safety upgrade that also includes renewal of turnouts at Firenze Santa Maria Novella. The work is essential before the 2026 opening of Florence’s new Belfiore high-speed station, yet the timing—mid-weekend—will disrupt tens of thousands of leisure and business travellers returning from trade fairs in the north or heading to Sunday appointments in Rome.
For international visitors who may face unexpected detours or overnight stops, VisaHQ can help keep travel plans on track by confirming Italy’s latest entry rules, assisting with Schengen visa extensions, and providing rapid document checks. Their platform—https://www.visahq.com/italy/—offers clear guidance and concierge support, ensuring that sudden schedule changes don’t derail compliance with passport or visa requirements.
![Weekend Rail Blackout in Florence to Sever Italy’s North–South High-Speed Corridor]()
Corporates with flex-work policies are advising employees to convert in-person Monday meetings to virtual format or to travel on Friday evening. Freight forwarders are rerouting time-critical cargo via Bologna or Pisa, while taxi associations in Florence predict a 30 % surge in airport transfers as travellers switch to air.
Passengers holding non-flexible tickets can rebook or request vouchers via carrier websites. Mobility teams should remind assignees that the bus link does not guarantee seat reservations and that luggage capacity is limited. Travellers needing to connect to overnight Frecciarossa services should allow at least three extra hours.
The bridge replacement itself is only the first phase; a new permanent structure is due by September 2026. Further short closures are expected in April and June, so firms with rotational assignee programmes should monitor the RFI project calendar and build contingency time into travel policies.
The 24-hour blockade is part of a €100 million safety upgrade that also includes renewal of turnouts at Firenze Santa Maria Novella. The work is essential before the 2026 opening of Florence’s new Belfiore high-speed station, yet the timing—mid-weekend—will disrupt tens of thousands of leisure and business travellers returning from trade fairs in the north or heading to Sunday appointments in Rome.
For international visitors who may face unexpected detours or overnight stops, VisaHQ can help keep travel plans on track by confirming Italy’s latest entry rules, assisting with Schengen visa extensions, and providing rapid document checks. Their platform—https://www.visahq.com/italy/—offers clear guidance and concierge support, ensuring that sudden schedule changes don’t derail compliance with passport or visa requirements.
Corporates with flex-work policies are advising employees to convert in-person Monday meetings to virtual format or to travel on Friday evening. Freight forwarders are rerouting time-critical cargo via Bologna or Pisa, while taxi associations in Florence predict a 30 % surge in airport transfers as travellers switch to air.
Passengers holding non-flexible tickets can rebook or request vouchers via carrier websites. Mobility teams should remind assignees that the bus link does not guarantee seat reservations and that luggage capacity is limited. Travellers needing to connect to overnight Frecciarossa services should allow at least three extra hours.
The bridge replacement itself is only the first phase; a new permanent structure is due by September 2026. Further short closures are expected in April and June, so firms with rotational assignee programmes should monitor the RFI project calendar and build contingency time into travel policies.
