Rome will be ready to open the
first section of its metro system's third line, the C line, by
the end of the month, the capital's Transport Councillor Guido
Improta said Thursday.
"We'll open the metro C (line) by the end of October,"
Improta said.
"The technicians are preparing the documentation. The aim
is to open the metro (line) in conditions of maximum security. I
hope that, if we don't manage to have all the authorizations by
Saturday, the delay will only be a few days".
The first section of the Metro C line, running from Pantano
in Rome's eastern suburbs to Centocelle towards the centre, was
due to open on October 11 after years of delays.
Impronta said the aim was also to "avoid a repeat of what
happened with metro B1," an offshoot of the B line running
northeast that presented numerous technical problems when it
eventually opened to the public in June 2012 after several
delays.
"There are still details that need to be finalised but we
are all working to ensure this happens as soon as possible, but
never at the expense of the safety and reliability of the
system," he said.
Eventually Metro C, which will cross the city east-west,
will intersect with the existing metro A line at S. Giovanni and
with the newer B line at the Colosseum.
Plans contemplate the other terminus in Piazzale Clodio in
Prati near the Vatican, or possibly beyond, but currently the
project has funding only as far as Piazza Venezia in the city
centre and even the final section, linking the planned Fori
Imperiali and Venezia stops, is in doubt.
Instead the tract linking Centocelle to Fori Imperiali is
due for completion by September 2020 according to the website of
the general contractor Metro C Spa.
Rome currently has a relatively limited metro system for a
metropolis of its size, in part due to the difficulties involved
in digging tunnels in ground rich with ancient archaeological
treasures.
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