“The allocation 440 million euros on the part of the Ministry of Transports for securing the isolated regional railways is an excellent piece of news. We have to give Minister Delrio and the technical structure of mission of the Ministry, guided by Prof Catalano, for having maintained the commitment undergone with the Regions and the Companies of transport and for having shown huge sensitivity on the theme of safety and on the needs of the Companies to be supported by the Government in this delicate passage of all the regional railways under the jurisdiction of Ansf by 2019”. It is affirmed by the President of Asstra Puglia and Basilicata and of Ferrovie Appulo Lucane, Matteo Colamussi, who has commented the signature of the Decree on the part of Minister Delrio. “These funds – Colamussi explains – are added to 254 million euros allocated by the Government on last September and will allow to the Companies of transport who manage the railways not interconnected with the national network to raise the safety standards through the installation of technological and protection systems of the train running, adapting them to Ansf’s.

I am personally doubly satisfied because over 440 million euros, 36.8 million euros are destined to Ferrovie Appulo Lucane for investments in Apulia (21.89 millions) and Basilicata (15 millions), because it is the only isolated railway in the two regions. We will use them for the completion and the adaptation of the train stop system to the end of the works in progress for the laying of a second railway of the line Bari – Matera; for the installation of technological systems of protection of the level crossings; for the implementation of the CTC system (centralized control of the railway movement); for the completion of ACEI systems. This decree – he ends – adds an additional element to the deep change of the local public transport that we are carrying on in the last years thanks to a punctual scheduling of the interventions with the national Government and Regions Apulia and Basilicata. For too long, the importance of the regional railway networks has been underestimated; instead they are destined to ensure the right to mobility to millions of users, commuters above all”.