As Rome prepares itself for an influx of millions of additional tourists for the upcoming 2025 Jubilee year, the city is carrying out substantial work on its public transport system.
In particular, the 100-year-old Porta Maggiore tram depot will be upgraded to accommodate the city’s new 33-metre trams, according to Rome’s public transport operator Atac.
All 27 stops on the city’s most popular line, Metro A, are also undergoing renovations as part of a €55-million investment that will see some of the stations fitted with a ‘vertical forest’ wall, new LED lights and overhead mirrors.
Rome’s Transport Councillor Eugenio Patanè said the interventions are “fundamental to allow public transport to return to its full efficiency”.
Here’s what to look out for this month:
Trams
September 1st to September 15th: Line 3 will only run from Porta Maggiore to Valle Giulia, with replacement bus services operating between Trastevere station and Porta Maggiore.
Line 5 services on the Via Prenestina-Piazza dei Gerani section will be replaced by bus 519.
Line 8 will be completely replaced by buses.
Lines 2 and 14 will be running as usual.
September 16th to November 3rd: All of Rome’s tram lines will be out of service and replaced by buses, according to Atac.
Closures will last longer for lines 2, 5 and 8, which will be completely out of service until December 1st.
Metro
The Ottaviano stop, on the Metro A line, is scheduled to reopen on September 9th after closing for renovation work on July 22nd.
The Spagna stop, on the same line, will reopen on October 3rd after being closed for over two months.
The Furio Camillo stop, once again on the Metro A line, will remain closed until November 6th.
Metro A services will continue to end at 9.00pm instead of 11.30pm from Sunday to Thursday until December 5th. Replacement buses are already in service.
Public transport strikes
Multiple nationwide public transport strikes have been called for the coming weeks, with the first walkout planned for Sunday, September 8th.
These protests may affect the normal operation of Rome’s public transport network.
However, under Italian law, public transport companies are required to guarantee a number of essential services (servizi minimi) during walkouts.
These generally run at peak commute times, meaning that, even in the case of highly disruptive strikes, commuters can still reach their destination (though services may be far more crowded than usual).
For more information on Rome’s public transport closures, see the Atac website.
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