Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) has announced late-notice infrastructure works on the strategic Orte–Rome–Fiumicino airport line, causing service curtailments and rerouting from midday on 19 September through 20 September and again on 3–4 October. The intervention affects the Leonardo Express and several regional trains that link Italy’s largest international gateway with central and northern regions. Passengers on Regional 5136, for example, must board at Roma Ostiense instead of Roma Tiburtina and will face altered intermediate stops. The track-side renewal—part of a €2.5 billion programme to digitise signalling before the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is rolled out—requires single-tracking for 30 hours, slashing capacity by roughly 40 percent. Trenitalia will provide replacement buses between Ponte Galeria and Roma Tiburtina during peak periods, but the operator warns that journey times could double, jeopardising tight flight connections at Fiumicino. Business travellers arriving on morning inter-city services from Florence, Naples and Milan should factor in extra time or consider taking taxis from Roma Termini to the airport. Corporate relocation teams moving household goods by rail-cargo vans on the same route may experience slot reallocations or night-time delays. The works illustrate Italy’s push to prepare key corridors for the 2027 European timetable recast that will integrate high-speed passenger and international freight flows under common digital standards. While essential for long-term reliability, the piecemeal weekend outages highlight the operational complexity of upgrading busy mixed-traffic lines without a complete shutdown.
Source: RFI operational bulletin
