Cancelling the project for the new Lyon-Turin line “would be more expensive than completing it”, said the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Thus, he ended the polemics inside Rome’s governing coalition that lasted for over a year.
Giuseppe Conte resumes the project of the new Lyon-Turin railway instead of cancelling it as he hinted in March.
“To not build the high-speed railway would be more expensive than completing the project”, the President of Italy’s Council of Ministers wrote on Facebook. This was an elegant method of appealing against the position of the Five Starts Movement, one of the parties of the government, which opposes significant infrastructure investments.
Luigi di Maio’s party is a fervent opponent of Matteo Salvini’s League on this subject of railways, the former denouncing a reckless waste of public money, while the latter believes it is mandatory to continue a project vital for the country’s economy.
Huge spending for the new Lyon-Turin railway
Giuseppe Conte became aware of the new situation that favoured the League after its victory at the European elections at the end of May. Thus, Europe is ready to increase financing which will generate savings for Italy estimated at EUR 1.6 billion, he said.
The central element of the railway investment is a 57.5 km for which digging began in the Alps. Its cost is estimated at EUR 8.6 billion. The European Union committed to finance 50% of the investment, possibly increasing the coverage to 55%. Also, Paris will grant EUR 2.15 billion and Rome EUR 2.48 billion.
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