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Lyon-Turin – Rail controversy
How the Berlusconi government responds to local protests, which started almost 20 years ago
By Marina Chelepine and Michael Leibman
EAs governments in many European countries grapple with ways of tackling soaring government debts, the opponents of wasteful public megaprojects gathered from the 26th to the 30th of August in Venaus, Italy.
F Traduction française.
The inhabitants of the Val di Susa, a scenic Alpine valley, have been mobilizing for years to stop a multi-billion Euro railroad project meant to connect Lyon in France with Torino, the capital of the Piedmont region in Italy.
The project was originally billed as a high speed rail-link allowing business travelers to race in less than an hour and a half from Lyon to Torino. But at the moment, emphasis is being laid on the possibilities the rail connection offers to shift freight from the road to the tracks, which, according to proponents, would provide huge benefits in reducing traffic congestion and CO2 emissions.
Those who oppose the project, however, see the move as an attempt at greenwashing. The existing rail facilities, they argue, are underused and out of date; the authorities should mandate their modernisation and ensure that rules are put in place that favour a shift from road to rail.
Moreover, they say, reports from both the academic world and some government agencies state that project is simply not financially viable, because traffic growth and projected income have been vastly overestimated.
Greens are far from unanimous on the project. On the French side, Green elected officials initially saw it as a means to slow the expansion of road transport and concomitant CO2 emissions. On the other side of the Alps, the Italian Greens have been demonstrating alongside the population of the Val di Susa against environmental damage and the health risks posed by boring a tunnel through rock containing both asbestos and uranium ore. Unfortunately, efforts to reconcile the two positions have so far been too limited, and on the French side the project has continued to plow forward.
But recently, on the French side opponents also have made their voice heard. And the European Green Party, the Swiss Greens and activists from all countries concerned, will soon be joining in a reexamination of the project.
They will be laying out all the information available on the table and taking into account all of the transalpine routes which have already been built – notably the tunnels from Switzerland to Italy. They should also integrate in their consideratieons that an endless growth in freight transport isn’t only at odds with Green desires but also in plain contradiction to today’s economic and financial reality.
We will keep you informed as this crucial debate unfolds in the coming months.
