“I decided to ask whether it was possible to make an extraordinary stop without any claim to preferential treatment, but in full compliance with the State Railways regulations”. This is the most striking passage of the speech in Parliament, in which the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida presented his version of the case of the Frecciarossa train that stopped at Ciampino to drop him off. As is now known, Lollobrigida was expected to be in Caivano for the opening of the new city park, but the delay accumulated by the train had put his presence in the municipality of Campania at risk. It is an institutional commitment that he does not want to miss, as the Minister noted when responding to a question from the opposition during “question time” in Parliament.
The courtroom version of Lollobrigida
The Minister of Agriculture described the debate on the issue as “deceptive” and said: “The question you wrote asks me to clarify whether my behavior is attributable to the normal activities of the department for which I am responsible: the answer is yes.” After talking at length about the devotion that awaited him in Caivano, Lollobrigida came to the point.
When he arrived at the station, the Frecciarossa train that was supposed to take him from Rome to Naples “was delayed by several minutes, a time clearly consistent with the institutional commitments attached to my role. Immediately after departure – he continued – “the high-speed train was diverted onto the regular railway line, independent of me and it was announced that there was a delay of first 75 minutes and then 100 minutes. After a few kilometres, the train stopped several times and for a long time.” A delay that “compromised the possibility of participating in the said events” to the “detriment of school personnel, Carabinieri personnel” and “many citizens standing outside, especially on a day of weather alert for the Campania Region”.
“I asked for an extraordinary stop but was not given preferential treatment”
Lollobrigida therefore admitted in his speech to parliament that he asked “whether it was possible to carry out an extraordinary stop without claiming to receive preferential treatment.” In this context, the Minister reminded the regulation of “the State Railways, which I know well, acting as a regional transportation council member”.
Following the incident, FS published a note claiming that if the delay exceeds 60 minutes, “the passenger has the right to return to the point of departure or another intermediate location of his choice”, but it was stated that the request was examined on a case-by-case basis. It must be case-by-case and “linked to specific needs, for example emergencies, public order”. During the questioning, the government representative underlined that, as previously explained by the FS, there have been 207 cases of extraordinary stops in the last six months “for very different reasons to allow users to get off the train.”
“I would like to add that in this case, as Ferrovie dello Stato managers have declared, there is no inconvenience or additional cost to users and all passengers have the opportunity to get off at Ciampino station,” he added. The Minister underlined. “I am confident that I did my duty: taking an initiative like Caivano’s represented the state’s proximity to a crime-torn area”. So the summary is that it was Lollobrigida who wanted the train to make a spectacular stop at Ciampino. A request that was clearly granted, even if the minister claimed that he was following Ferrovie dello Stato rules and was not subject to favoritism compared to other passengers.
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Source: Today IT
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
