A late Frecciarossa made an ad hoc stop for Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida at Ciampino , near Rome.
The story, reconstructed by Fatto Quotidiano, occurred yesterday, a day of delays across the entire network due to a fault on the route from Rome to Naples. The minister was headed to Naples Afragola, from where he was supposed to go to Caivano for the inauguration of a new urban park and then return to the capital and record his speech on the TV show "Avanti Popolo" hosted by Nunzia De Girolamo.
The convoy, which left Turin at 7am and headed for Salerno, was delayed by almost two hours. So RFI authorized the train conductor to make an extraordinary stop at Ciampino: only the minister got off there, with a couple of people from his staff , Lollobrigida (who had boarded the train shortly before, at Rome Termini) then took the blue car and left towards Caivano.
Controversy from all the oppositions: " An act of unjustifiable arrogance, a slap in the face to all the citizens who were on the same train as him and to all the people who face disruptions every day", comments the Democratic Party with a note from Andrea Casu. Secretary Elly Schlein also intervened on the matter: « Not everyone can afford to stop a train . I find Lollobrigida's behavior arrogant and unworthy, we have already submitted a question."
Matteo Renzi asked for the minister's resignation: " Unprecedented abuse of power , ministers can use state resources but cannot stop the trains of all citizens, if the news is confirmed we will ask in the chamber for Lollobrigida's resignation ."
M5s leader Giuseppe Conte speaks of a "devastating signal" : "They leave citizens on the ground with a maneuver of tears and blood and make a means of transport a privilege."
An "unacceptable" episode also for Carlo Calenda . «It demonstrates a wrong conception of the use of public power and shows little sense of dignity with respect to the role held . At least he should apologize."
In the afternoon, Trenitalia 's clarification arrived, which also confirmed the news: «The stop at Ciampino - we read in a note - did not lead to further delays for travellers, nor repercussions on circulation nor additional costs for the company . The train stopped shortly after Rome Termini due to what was happening on the line and the diversion via Cassino was also decided by virtue of the stop already scheduled in Naples Afragola. After the restart, a stop was arranged at Ciampino station, where the institutions present on board got off , in order to be able to meet institutional commitments".
«The reasons why a train makes an extraordinary stop - Trenitalia further specifies - are different. These include, for example, 118 interventions, the presence of intemperate travelers on board the train or cases of public order ."
(Unioneonline/L)