Trenitalia confirmed the suspension of rail traffic on the line Napoli-Salerno for the summer, from July 4th to September 2nd.
Trains will not run between stations Naples San Giovanni-Barra and Torre Annunziata Central-Castellammare di Stabia, and in some periods even between Central Annunziata Tower and Lower Nocera.
The closure of the line will cause significant inconvenience to thousands of commuters who use trains to reach Naples from Salerno and from the Vesuvian coast. Among these, many workers in the tourism and catering sectors who will not be able to use public transport to get to work.
Tourists will also be penalised by the suspension of trains. The "historic line" is in fact used by many visitors to reach Pompei, and the closure of the route will force the suspension of the high-speed connection that connects Roma a Pompei every Sunday.
Trenitalia justifies the closure of the line with the need to carry out “extraordinary maintenance and infrastructure enhancement works”. These are urgent interventions for a railway line that has long needed to be refurbished.
The Naples-Salerno is often subject to inconvenience, with delays, cancellations and cancellations of journeys. Last January, the route between Lower Nocera and Salerno was interrupted due to a landslide, while in 2021 rail traffic was suspended due to an unsafe building.
Measures to mitigate the inconvenience
Trenitalia has announced some measures to try to mitigate the inconvenience caused by the closure of the line. For travellers heading to Pompei, a FrecciaLink will be available that will depart from the High Speed station of Naples Afragola and it will come to both Pompei that Sorrento.
In addition, replacement buses will be provided on the interrupted routes. However, Trenitalia warns that the seats available on the buses may be fewer than those on the normal service offered by trains, and that travel times will be longer due to road traffic.
A difficult summer for commuters
For commuters, summer will be a time of great difficulty. Regional and metropolitan trains will be diverted to alternative routes or limited in stations. Naples San Giovanni-Barra, Torre Annunziata Central or Nocera Inferiore.
Trenitalia assures that everything should return to normal by autumn. However, for commuters the situation is more complex: the summer closure aggravates the problems already existing on the line, and it is not clear if and when these problems will be definitively resolved.
Article published on May 17, 2024 - 12:21 pm
