Rome – Legambiente’s new Pendolaria report presented: Lazio second Region for number of trips of trains which in 2021 were 1607 (941 Trenitalia and 666 Atac/Cotral), second for total number of trains with 260 trainsets of 17.3 years of average age (slightly above the national average of 15.3) with sensational differences that emerge between the Atac/Cotral fleets (of Rome Lido and Rome North) over 33 years of age on average, and Trenitalia fleets of 12 years on average. Lazio’s absolute positive record is that for the lowest percentage of single-track railways: there are 1,008 km of double-track railways (best national data) and 348 km of single-track railways. On the other hand, the data on investments from the regional budget was negative, which if Italy were on average for 2021, equal to 0.57%, in Lazio they are just 0.10% of the budget (penultimate Region) equal to only 27.7 million of appropriations for rolling stock and 0 for services.
“For the ecological transition of Lazio in the public transport sector, all the financed projects and much more must be implemented quickly – declares Roberto Scacchi, president of Legambiente Lazio -, resources from the Region are still too scarce, and we ask the new government to invest at least 1% of the regional budget for commuters from LazioAnd. From the extensions of the metro to the additional Roman tram lines, from the upgrades of the FL to the reopening of the disused railways, up to the drastic reduction of waiting times at the stations, a powerful care of the iron of the Capital and of the entire Region is a crucial point for the improvement quality of life and an essential element if we want to transform Rome, with its total disaster of public transport, into a modern European capital, with clean air, state-of-the-art public transport and without the pincers of cars invading every urban space”.
On the projects and infrastructures front, the Legambiente study analyzes everything that is in the field thanks to regional funds and PNRR, projects with still partial funding and those without funding, all to draw a picture of the current situation, in comparison with a scenario to 2030.
Among the projects to be carried out for the Regional trains there is the quadrupling of the Capannelle-Ciampino which, against a cost of 255 million euros, was financed for 229 million, to allow the FL4 Roma Castelli and FL8 Roma Nettuno railways the possibility of increasing the frequency today to 60 minutes, to be increased to 15, as on the FL2 Roma Tivoli, always to be increased from 60 to 15 minutes of intervals through the doubling in progress towards Guidonia and then in the upgrading of the entire section, including the more peripheral stops towards Abruzzo. On the front of Railways abandoned that the association asks to reactivate continue to be present there Priverno-Terracinaa 17.5 km section closed in 2012 due to a landslide, the Orte-Capranica-Civitavecchia and the Leonardo-Fiumicino parkcrazy decommissioning in 2000 for 5.8 km of route which makes Fiumicino the largest city in Lazio without a train.
Sui Roman Regional Trains the crux remains that of the closure to the north of the railway ring and the new Foro Italico station, all financed today with 284 million against the 904 needed, but also that for the new Pigneto station. And then the projects for the Roma Lido and Roma Nord which this year too are among the 10 worst lines in Italy, due to an evident and total malfunction in the face of a change of management from Atac to Cotral which cannot fail to do well : 581,000,000 € comes from PNRR and other funds for these two sections, but the inconvenience for visitors continues to be evident and the funds must speed up their regeneration.
On the Care of the Iron in Rome and new Trams of the Capital€ 626 million from PNRR funds are foreseen for the construction of the Termini-Vaticano-Aurelio, Ponte Mammolo-Subaugusta bridge, reopening of the Lazio-Giardinetti line with extensions to Termini and Tor Vergata, Tiburtina-Ponte Mammolo line for 31.9 new km of tramways in a 2030 scenario. Overall scenario that sees Rome today with 60.6 km of metro and 31 km of tram and a prospect of 107.4 km of metro and 62.9 of tram. For now, the Anagnina-Tor Vergata-Torre Angela 6.5 km trams with a cost of 230 million, the Marconi-Subaugusta tram of 13.4 km and €220 million, the Angelico-Auditorium tram of 5, 1 km and €60 million needed, the Piazza Vittorio-Piazza Venezia tram of 2.7 km and €31 million still to be allocated.
On the front of Rome subways, for Metro C the PNRR allocates the necessary €1.6 billion; great step forward for the Capital, but resources are still lacking for the completion of the entire route, for the extension of the A Battistini-Monte Mario of 5.2 km, resources are needed for 900 million of which only 5.6 are those allocated; and for the extension of the B Rebibbia-Casal Monastero by 2.8 km, 700 million are needed, without forgetting the D line. To relaunch the underground lines and the mere renewal of the vehicle fleet is not enough, but a great strategy must be put in place to increase the frequency of Metro B, B1 and Cnot up to a metropolitan public service which should provide waiting times of 3 minutes and not 15 minutes, a ridiculous time interval for a subway and which instead should be the maximum waiting time for the FL2, Roma NORD and Rome LIDO where convoys are guaranteed every 8-15 minutes.
“The important resources that come from Europe for the ecological conversion of transport are strategic and it is essential that they be found for all the projects in the field – he comments Amedeo Trolese of the regional secretariat of Legambiente – but it is equally crucial that all this does not turn into a dream book, with endless obstacle courses and the perception that nothing is changing. We will continue to be vigilant, together with the citizens, to monitor the progress of these major transition sites and we ask that efforts be multiplied towards the concrete construction of railways, trams, metros, and those for a new public role in contrast to what in the years it seemed a decision-making excessive power of the transport companies on the projects to be done or not, facilitated by the technical-administrative inertia of the Region and the Municipality”.