In Rome the “iron era” ends and the “rubber era” begins A worrying warning sign of what could happen to the Ferrovia Roma Nord by Gianfranco Lelmi This title is not my invention, CeSMot thought of summarizing in a few words the change that is taking place in Rome: “Transport, CeSMot: from today in Rome the “iron era” ends and the “rubber era” begins”. The signs are very clear, on the Roma Lido there is no longer an official timetable, there are only pieces of paper hanging that inform users, in a manner that is totally different from the reality of operation. Another worrying sign comes from the absurd suppression, today 3 August 2015, of the Centocelle – Giardinetti railway line. As reported by CeSMot, if the user from Torre Spaccata has to reach Termini, as he did before with the ex Roma Fiuggi train, now he has to use the metro and get to Parco di Centocelle, get to the bus stop 105 and hoping that there is no traffic, after about two hours, he can "gain" the destination. With the train it only took 40 minutes. And yet there are many who use this means of transport, we are talking about 30,000 users a day who travel on convoys that can carry up to 300 people at a time. The railway has very frequent stops and allows users to move more quickly than the metro, which after Centocelle, moves away from the very busy Casilina. The railway, as reported, even though it has not undergone maintenance for 18 years, allows its train to continue to run, even if at one point of the route the rails had detached from the sleepers, forcing the convoys to slow down by 5 km per hour. Now, in August it seems the tracks at the height of via Balzani will be made safe. According to CeSMot, ATAC, with the consent of the Lazio Region, is purposely reducing the rail service in favor of road transport. Currently it has been the turn of Centocelle – Giardinetti, then it will be the turn of Roma Nord and finally Roma – Lido. On this last railway line, replacement buses have been activated for some trips. On the metro C there are connections made by buses, lines 106 and 107. That is, inconceivably the metro route is being duplicated by surface vehicles (source CeSMot). From August 3, 2015 the Giardinetti terminus and the stops Tobagi, Torre Maura, Torre Spaccata, Alessandrino, Grano and Togliatti will no longer exist, users of the little train will have to use the metro C and the bus line 106 that reaches Grotte Celoni and Parco di Centocelle. CeSMot bluntly takes it out on Mayor Marino, the President of the Lazio Region Zingaretti, asks that Regional Councillor Civita and the Capitoline Councillor for Mobility Esposito intervene to maintain the entire Termini – Giardinetti section, with the removal of the managers responsible for these absurd initiatives. Furthermore, the intervention of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Auditors is hoped for so that the necessary investigations are carried out for this inappropriate waste of public money, recalling that the terminus of this railway built in Giardinetti was inaugurated in 2008. Rome, continues the CeSMot press release, unlike the major European cities that invest in rail transport, favours buses. The tram lines 3 and 8, partly operated by buses, continue to be replaced by these vehicles. Non-polluting vehicles such as the trolleybuses of the 90 Express line, are replaced by diesel buses. And yet the milestone of 100 years of activity was just around the corner for this historic and glorious railway that until a few years ago reached Fiuggi, and in the past Alatri and finally Frosinone. Now the Region has decided to cut the Centocelle - Giardinetti section, in fact it believes that the metro C can serve sufficiently for the populous neighborhoods located on the via Casilina. Torre Spaccata, Torre Maura, Alessandrino, Tor Bella Monica, Giardinetti will be connected by bus 105 thus contributing to further congestion on the via Casilina. The former Capitoline councilor Guido Improta, had firmly opposed this cut, indeed, he had proposed extending the connection to Tor Vergata. It is obvious that there are many controversies and reactions to this cut. The neighborhood committees, faced with this initiative that closes the doors to the "iron cure" and opens them to rubber, are on a war footing. Duplicating the route of the train with bus 105 is absurd, they say.