As has now become common practice in recent years, summer on the railways means the closure of several lines because of engineering works and, as a result, the suspension of train services. In the past, restrictions on traffic were only temporary, at night or during specific time windows, and worksites often shared space and time with passing trains. Today, however, practical considerations make this option no longer feasible, above all for safety reasons. In some cases, this means the prolonged closure of key routes, with freight trains bearing the brunt, as passenger services can often be replaced by shuttle buses.
The biggest impact in summer 2026 will be felt between Sunday 2 and Monday 17 August, when the railway between Verona and Vicenza, the central section of northern Italy’s most important Transpadana route, will close continuously. The shutdown will allow infrastructure and technological systems to be prepared, through a EUR72 million investment, for the interconnection with the future high-speed line, which is at an advanced stage of construction. Between mid-June and the end of July 2026, several interruptions, although limited in duration, had already affected the preceding section between Brescia and Verona, to prepare the final works before test runs begin on the newly built high-speed line.
In some cases, the impact on rail traffic is particularly severe despite closures lasting only a few days. One example is the Florence rail hub, where a road overbridge known as Ponte al Pino is being replaced. The works have effectively split Italy in two, as the country’s main north-south rail corridor runs through Florence. There were two closures: the first from 5 to 10 July, and the second from 26 to 30 July, with numerous trains diverted or even cancelled. The construction of another high-capacity line, between Naples and Bari, has also led to the suspension of train services. From 10 to 30 June 2026, the section from Caserta to Foggia was closed to allow the activation of 15 kilometres of new double track between Naples and Cancello.
A piece of good news, so to speak, concerns the Rome-Florence Direttissima, which will not be affected by particularly disruptive works during the summer months of 2026. The last brief closure took place from 10 to 13 April, to complete upgrades to technological systems with the European ERTMS signalling system. Disruption had, however, occurred in previous years, with extended closures linked to works launched in 2018 and divided into three phases, the last of which was completed with the upgrade of the Orvieto-Settebagni section, for a total investment of around EUR500 million.
Scheduled closures for upgrading works also involve some cross-border routes, such as the Domodossola-Brig line, which was completely closed to traffic for four weeks in July 2026. The Simplon line is one of the main rail corridors for freight transport and in recent years has been heavily affected by prolonged continuous closures, followed by time-window restrictions on traffic. The Arona-Domodossola and Domodossola-Brig lines are mainly involved in upgrade works, together with the refurbishment of tunnels, to allow intermodal trains to operate without loading-gauge restrictions. Worksites are also active on the Brenner corridor for extraordinary infrastructure maintenance carried out on both sides, Italian and Austrian, with varying levels of restriction from 18 July to 1 August 2026.
The long closure for doubling works on the Cremona-Mantua line, on the section between Piadena-Bozzolo and the provincial capital, where traffic has been suspended since January 2024, now barely makes the news. The initial timetable envisaged reopening by the end of 2026, but that deadline is far from guaranteed. This line, an ideal mid-Po Valley route, handled a fair amount of freight traffic, which is now forced onto alternative routes that are often longer and more costly. For example, along the Codogno-Cremona-Mantua line lies the Cremona freight yard of Cavatigozzi, which is now prevented from using its usual routes to avoid transit on more saturated lines, such as those of the core Rfi network. Around 20 freight trains a day used the Cremona-Mantua line, coming from the Brenner, Trieste and Porto Marghera.
By contrast, the prolonged closure since January 2024 for electrification works on the Ivrea-Aosta line has no direct impact on freight traffic, as the line is used only by regional passenger services. The same applies to the Milan Passante, where traffic is suspended from 3 to 30 August, although in this case the impact is on the entire suburban rail system across Lombardy.
Piermario Curti Sacchi
