There will be a 24-hour national rail strike from 21.00 on Saturday 14 March to the same time on Sunday 15 March. Ferrovie dello Stato says the strike will only affect short-haul trains not medium and long-distance ones. However it has confirmed that in Rome the local direct train from Termini station to Fiumicino airport will run as usual. Ferrovie dello Stato suggests customers call for information on 892021 before travelling.

The 24-hour strike by railway workers has been called to protest against current safety procedures on the railways following the sacking of engine driver and security officer Dante De Angelis last year, after he reported publicly that carriages of two ETR 500 Eurostar high-speed trains had come uncoupled due to a lack of adequate safety measures on the railways.

In the wake of a similar uncoupling between Naples and Rome in January this year on a brand new Frecciarossa high-speed train, introduced onto the Italian railways in November 2008, the unions are striking in support of the dismissed engine driver and asking for his reinstatement on the grounds that his sacking was unlawful, and that the latest incident is proof that security checks on all trains must be improved.