Belated update: the whole 2,500 km journey through four countries ran flawlessly, not one minute of delay. And day 2 was even a day of strike by Italian rail workers!
So that was great. Unfortunately it is always rather unusual. I love #rail travel, but delays and missed connections are a real problem, especially with international trips where you need to ride with several operators. A @EU_Commission passengers rights directive, like we have for air travel, would help.