Good news for commuters who take the train every morning: the intercity are safe and a new discussion table on the price of season tickets could soon start.
But let's go in order. The government has signed a new ten-year railway contract with Trenitalia which provides for investments of 300 million euros until 2026. "The intercity lines were the Cinderella of public transport - said Infrastructure Minister Graziano Delrio, presenting the agreement on Thursday morning at the Termini station in Rome – Without this contract, 40% of the service would have been at risk, which is now not only preserved, but also enhanced by 7%. And it is important, because intercity transport transports 12 million passengers a year and reaches even the most distant places in our country”.
On the thorniest issue, that of increases in commuter rail season tickets, Delrio said he was ready to “find a point of agreement. We invite the Regions to sit down at the table. My moral suasion may concern the staging of the increases. But we are available to open a table”.
Returning to the new contract, the plan does not actually provide for the purchase of new trains, but the renewal of old trains. The first visible change is in the look: the new night intercity buses will be dark blue, while white has been chosen for those that circulate during the day. The latter will also be progressively renewed in the interior both with restructuring interventions and with the arrival of some carriages used until now for Frecciabianca trains.
Furthermore, the available seats will increase by 16%, equal to 6 thousand units every day. From the end of 2017, the average age of trains will thus drop from 25 to 15 years and all carriages will be equipped with "electrical sockets, a table for each seat, new lighting, larger luggage compartments and more comfortable toilets", ensures Trenitalia.
The managing director of the company, Barbara Morgante, has ensured that - after the 4% increase recorded last October - a new increase in the cost of tickets is not foreseen in the short term. "On the other hand, there will be more services on board - she added - such as the traveling cleaner and minibar refreshment points for longer journeys".
The number of sections will also increase, with the opening of the Reggio Calabria – Taranto connection scheduled for mid-February.
