If you often take the train, you will already know that the delays are on the agenda. The new investigation of Altroconsumowhich highlights how, from high -speed trains to intercities, the convoys accumulate chronic delays, penalizing travelers and putting a strain on the reliability of the railway system.
To conduct the investigation, Altroconsumo It monitored 54 main routes, between high speed and intercity, excluding regional trains. The study was based on the public data of the “Live arrivals monitor monitor” service of the Italian railway network (RFI), relating to 43 consecutive days between 25 July and 5 September 2025, collecting about 28,000 surveys minute by minute.
Let’s see what he discovered.
Diffused delays
Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa accumulate delays in 31% of cases, while Italo is slightly better, with about 20% late convoys. Despite this, the high speed loses enamel: the travel times have stretched compared to the past and travelers pay high tickets without receiving a really fast service.
For example, the Milano Centrale-Roma Termini section, once traveled in about 3 hours, today takes on average 3 hours and 20 minutes, and in periods of work it can exceed even 4-5 hours.
The Frecciarossa show criticality especially on the Adriatic sections:
The Italian convoys (on the 25 sections analyzed in all) behave better, with average delays of 20%, but some lines remain problematic:
In general, Italo is more punctual than Frecciarossa, especially on the main sections such as Milan – Rome.
The intercities are the most late trains of the investigation, with 41% of the trains late on the 24 monitored sections. Some connections show dramatic critical issues:
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The burning theme of reimbursements
Currently, passengers are entitled to reimbursement only if the train accumulates a delay of more than 30 minutes. The analysis of Altroconsumo However, it shows that this threshold leaves most of the travelers late from compensation. For example, among the Frecciarossa, 13% of trains arrive at least 15 minutes late, but only 5.7% exceed the 30 minutes threshold and can get a refund.
Even among the convoys of Italo, 7.8% of trains arrive late at least 15 minutes, while only 3.6% exceed 30 minutes and today are entitled to refreshment. By reducing the threshold to 15 minutes for the high speed, the audience of reimbursed passengers would double, ensuring more equipped compensation.
Altroconsumo He also launched a petition to ask that the refunds for the delays of the trains finally become more right. In particular, it proposes that for high speed the reimbursement of shots already 15 minutes late, while for all the other trains from 30 minutes, with a compensation equal to 30% of the cost of the ticket.
For more substantial delays, greater than 60 minutes (or 30 minutes for AV), the compensation should rise to 50%, until you provide for the full refund of the ticket when the delay reaches or exceeds two hours. In addition, refunds are asked to be automatically credited and that passengers can choose whether to receive them in money or in the form of vouchers.
