Chaos Strikes: Italian Train Services Disrupted by Rare Technical Malfunction

A technical malfunction between Rome's Termini and Tiburtina stations caused significant delays and cancellations for dozens of trains in Italy on Wednesday. The disruption affected around 80 trains operated by Trenitalia and 10 by Italo, causing chaos for passengers and sparking criticism from politicians.

Dozens of trains in Italy were delayed or cancelled on Wednesday after a technical malfunction on a stretch of line between the Italian capital's two main stations, train operator Trenitalia said.

"It's just been chaos as we try to figure out and navigate the station," said Rachel Dame, an American tourist traveling to Florence from Rome's main Termini station, where screens displayed delays for most destinations. The problems stemmed from a failure at 6:20 a.m. (0420 GMT) of an electric cabin that supplies energy to an intersection between Termini and Tiburtina stations in Rome, said Gianpiero Strisciuglio, CEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, which manages Italy's railway infrastructure.

"The type of failure is rare," Strisciuglio told Italian radio, adding the company is investigating the causes. However, train traffic gradually resumed at the Rome intersection from around 9 a.m., national rail company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) said in a note.

The intersection affected is a main crossroads for train services connecting Italy's north and south. Angelo Bonelli, a member of parliament for the opposition Green Europe party, lamented "constant breakdowns which cut Italy in two and burden workers and students," urging Trenitalia and the government to act.

Transport disruption and delays are a common headache in Rome, a city undergoing a facelift as it prepares to host up to 32 million tourists during the 2025 Roman Catholic Holy Year. "All it takes is for a train to break down at six in the morning and maybe until noon the line won't run," said Luca, who added he was a regular commuter.

The malfunction affected almost 80 local, intercity and high speed trains operated by Trenitalia, which were either delayed by up to four hours, rerouted or cancelled outright, the group said. Private operator Italo said in a separate statement that it had cancelled ten of its trips.

FS expects delays to progressively reduce and return to normal over the course of the day. (Additional reporting by Alessandro Parodi Editing by Keith Weir)

(With inputs from agencies.)