Deputy Premier and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini suggested political motives could lie behind the suspension of train services in Calabria early on Thursday. The rail sabotage is the latest in a long series of major disruptions to hit Italy’s rail network.
Services had to be halted after cables were cut at several points on rail lines in the southern region in what appeared to be acts of sabotage.
“I hope there are no political motives”
Speaking at a press conference, League leader Salvini said he had been woken by a call from the CEO of railway infrastructure operator RFI alerting him to the cut cables, which brought traffic in Calabria to a standstill. He said a quarter of current rail disruptions were now being caused by damage or malicious acts, at a time when more construction sites were open on the network than ever before in its history. Alongside this, he pointed to terrorism, copper theft and cable-cutting as recurring problems, adding that he hoped there were no political motives behind the acts, since it was passengers who ultimately paid the price.
Anarchist groups claimed responsibility for several acts of sabotage that hit the rail network earlier this year, during the period of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. This week, by contrast, high-speed services were disrupted by planned infrastructure work in the Florence area.
Salvini also announced Thursday that rail company Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) is set to have a new management team from Monday, after chief executive Stefano Donnarumma announced last month that he was stepping down. The centre-left opposition said it should be Salvini, not Donnarumma, who ought to be resigning, after what it called years of poor service.
Comment: the minister might look closer to home
Salvini’s eagerness to point to sabotage, anarchists and copper thieves sits oddly with his own record at the top of Italy’s transport brief. His tenure as minister has coincided with recurrent strikes, a string of serious disruptions to the rail service, and the deaths of railway workers on the tracks — none of which owe anything to cable-cutters or political agitators.
At the same time, he has thrown his weight behind the Messina Strait Bridge, a project many regard as a vanity scheme, and one currently under investigation on two fronts: prosecutors in Catanzaro are examining possible ‘ndrangheta attempts to infiltrate the contracts, while a separate Rome inquiry is looking into alleged corruption and leaking of official secrets tied to the project’s approval, with several anti-mafia prosecutors’ offices also coordinating on the wider risk of organised crime involvement.
Before Salvini looks for people to blame for Italy’s rail troubles, the state of the network under his own watch might be worth a harder look.
