Service suspended between Ottaviano-San Giovanni stations(ANSA) – Rome, September 28 – A long section of the Rome metro’ s A line was halted on Monday after part of a ceiling caved in the area of the Spagna station, the stop next to the famous Spanish steps. A train had to be evacuated as a result of the incident and the A line between the Ottaviano station, the nearest to St Peter’ s, and San Giovanni, was suspended. Transport company ATAC stressed that no one was injured and said it was laying on shuttle bus services to replace the metro line while it is out of action. Rome’ s Transport Councillor, Stefano Esposito, said the city would open an investigation into the incident. “ATAC has communicated that a train hit the vaulted ceiling where the electric lines are connected, and it was evacuated,” he said. Prior to the incident, Esposito was already at the metro Monday morning, taking one of his periodic “incognito” tours of the stations. “Unfortunately we’ re hanging by luck; this is the situation. The metro’ s infrastructure needs an intervention, but we already knew this,” Esposito said, adding that the stations were expected to reopen around 3 p.m local time. Carlo Rienzi, president of consumer group Codacons, said the group would file a formal complaint on Monday with the Rome prosecutor’ s office to address the “serious crime of attack on transport safety” and to look into maintenance issues. Passengers responded to the inevitable resulting chaos with frustration at the ongoing disruptions caused by Rome’ s difficulty-plagued public transport system. “For the umpteenth time and not for my own fault, I’ m going to be late for work,” said Alessandra, one of the many passengers stuck on foot at the Ottaviano station following its evacuation due to the collapse. Traffic was in gridlock in the Prati neighborhood, seat of Rome’ s courthouses, which was especially hard hit by the shutdown. Transportis becoming increasingly important as the time draws nearer to the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, which is expected to draw millions of religious pilgrims to the city. “The trains are stopped in the stations, the tourists are laughing, speechless. And in December, the Jubilee starts,” said a passenger named Guido outside of the San Giovanni station.

Sezioni:
• Rassegna Stampa

Aree Tematiche:
• TRASPORTI