Lots of cars, few trains and even fewer metros. The photograph taken by the Pendolaria de Legambiente report gives an unforgiving image of public transport in Italy. Particularly when it comes to sustainable rail mobility, which experts say should be encouraged to reduce emissions from the transport sector. The report, produced as part of the campaign Clean cities, focuses on metros, trams and commuter trains. Three modes of transport on which Italy is not able to compete with other major European countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. And that's not all: in recent years, our country is one of those which has invested the least to encourage rail transport. From 2016 to 2023, Legambiente estimates, only 11 km of trams and 14.2 km of metros have been built in Italy.
Comparison with Europe
If we take into account all the metro lines in Italian cities, the total stops at 256 kilometers. A figure far from the United Kingdom (680.4 km), Germany (656.5) and Spain (615.6). The city of Madrid alone – with 291.3 km of metro – records a higher figure than all Italian cities combined. In the comparison between large European cities, Rome is at the bottom of the ranking in terms of metro infrastructure: only 1.43 km per 100,000 inhabitants. If we take trams into account, the result does not change. In Italy the total mileage is 397.4 km, compared to 875 km in France and especially 2,042.9 km in Germany. Finally, commuter trains, one of the most used modes of transport by commuters. In Italy, the entire commuter rail network extends over 740.6 km. Other major European countries travel more than double the figures: 1,442.7 km in Spain, 1,817.3 km in the United Kingdom and 2,041.3 km in Germany.
The record on the vehicle fleet
Although Italian data relating to rail transport does not compare favorably with those of other major European economies, our country remains among the leaders of the Old Continent in terms of the number of private cars in circulation. In Italy, there are 666 cars per thousand inhabitants, or 30% more than in France, Spain and Germany. A figure which, in all likelihood, can be explained precisely by the lack of adequate investment in public transport and the railway line. “Italian cities are at a standstill, while Europe travels ever faster by train,” comments Stefano Ciafani, president of Legambiente. “We need – he adds – an additional effort on economic resources until 2030, equal to 1.5 billion euros per year, to build metro lines, trams and suburban lines “.
The case of Rome
In the Legambiente report, Rome is one of the cities that disfigures the most in terms of the development of new rail transport projects. Currently, nine construction sites are stopped in the capital. One of the main projects is the so-called “Roman railway ring”, for which Pnrr funds were allocated and then removed during last summer's review. Then there is the “Pigneto node”, which envisages the construction of a new interchange station between the regional railways and Metro C in the eastern quadrant of the city. To date, 3 calls for tenders have been abandoned, causing a delay of at least 6 years. In anticipation of the Jubilee in 2025, a new tram line should also have been built along Viale Palmiro Togliatti and TVA (Termini-Vatican-Aurelio). The latter was, however, postponed to 2026, “because it would not have been inaugurated in time for the Jubilee and the open construction sites would have deteriorated the viability of crucial areas for the events of 2025,” explains Legambiente.
The consequences on health
Beyond the inconvenience for citizens, Italy's shortcomings on rail lines also have tangible consequences on pollution. These are calculated by Sima, the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine, which recalls how “vehicle traffic contributes 23% to total greenhouse gas emissions (of which around 60% is attributable to cars alone), carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions for around 50% and particle emissions for around 13%”. The social costs of these levels of pollution are estimated at 34 billion euros per year. “With a reduction in PM2 .5 of 10 micrograms per cubic meter – explains the president of Sima, Alessandro Miani – we would expect a reduction in general mortality of 7%, of 26% for coronary accidents, of 10% for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and 9% for lung tumors.
Cover photo: ANSA/Claudio Peri | Disturbances at Rome Termini station (November 30, 2023)
Read also:
