Ivrea. “One thing is clear: the Giunta Cirio does not like trains or those who use them”. With these words Alberto Avetta, Pd regional councilor and vice-president of the II Transport Commission, comments on the hearing of the representatives of the Comis-Coordination for Integrated and Sustainable Mobility, which brings together various associations of commuters and users of the Turin metropolitan area and the provinces of Alessandria , Asti, Biella and Cuneo.
«There are so many deficiencies in the regional railway service recorded and highlighted by Comis. Starting with the fact that after the reduction of the railway service due to the Covid-19 emergency, unlike the other Regions, the previous situation has never been restored in Piedmont. Furthermore, in many areas of Piedmont the new service contract is proving to be pejorative in many respects: reduced services in particular on holidays and before holidays and lack of passages in the morning and evening hours, which penalize commuters for study and work. And I remember that the consumer associations have filed an appeal with the Tar noting all the inconsistencies of the new railway service contract with the prescriptions of the Transport Regulation Authority which the Piedmont Region has inexplicably preferred to ignore».
“Added to this are the age-old problems – adds the regional councilor Alberto Avetta – for example the Ivrea-Chivasso-Turin section, which continues to stand out due to the crowding of vehicles (very often users are not allowed on trains due to lack of space) , and it is not possible to understand why the Piedmont Region does not think of including it in the SFM8 metropolitan railway service. Furthermore, we have repeatedly denounced the delays on the Rivarolo-Pont electrification and those involving the Turin-Caselle-Ceres railway link. Just as the request for reactivation of the Pinerolo-Torre Pellice remains unanswered. There are numerous shortcomings and criticalities found in the various areas, with reduced or non-existent services on holidays and days before holidays (in the Asti area as in the Acqui area, in the Casale area as in the Ovada area and so the connections for Limone) and numerous suspended lines. And in addition to the now permanent inconvenience for commuters, it is clear that those who want to travel as a tourist to many areas of our Piedmont must necessarily resort to private transport».
«Comis did not limit itself to a photograph of the critical issues – Avetta – but made reasonable and acceptable proposals that the Cirio junta would do well to consider. Unfortunately, even today we had confirmation of the fact that the regional council does not like trains and those who use them (or would like to use them). Nor does he like user representatives, given that, to date, Comis has never been received in the department, despite formal requests to that effect ».