The case of the regional train Cosenza–Sapri on 13 March 2025, documented in a parliamentary question submitted a few days ago, highlights how Trenitalia S.p.A., despite being an essential public service, manages operational issues and service disruptions on regional trains in Calabria in a way that is entirely oriented towards business priorities and financial results. We are aware that this corporate approach, which leads to the neglect of safety issues and passengers’ needs, is now a general feature of transport management in Italy. However, this episode is paradigmatic for the aggressiveness shown by company management towards the worker involved.
In this specific case, due to the breakdown of the only toilet on board and the fact that the door of one of the two driving cabs was out of order, the train manager requested instructions from the operations centre in order to safeguard the needs and safety of passengers. As a result, he received an eight-day disciplinary suspension. This episode, however paradoxical it may appear, highlights a structural problem: workers who report issues are placed under pressure, while those who are truly responsible for organisational decisions, who tend to “save time” and reduce immediate costs for the company, remain shielded from accountability.
This episode fits into a broader pattern of service disruptions on regional trains across Italy, and in Calabria in particular, where lack of maintenance of rolling stock, cancelled services, and the use of replacement buses do not resolve users’ problems. The aim of local and national policy is increasingly to outsource regional transport to private operators, especially road transport, and to direct public investment only towards heavily used long-distance routes, while progressively weakening those services that do not generate immediate profitability for the company. The consequence is that interchange stations such as Paola, Sibari, and Lamezia Terme remain critical bottlenecks, with insufficient connections and travel times incompatible with the needs of commuters.
The case of the broken toilet is emblematic of a management approach in which Trenitalia, a company wholly owned by the State, behaves like a private corporation, minimising oversight over safety and over the protection of passengers’ rights. At the same time, staff who attempt to highlight critical issues or propose solutions are disciplined and obstructed.
It is necessary for Trenitalia workers and for the population suffering these service disruptions to join forces and exert pressure on the competent institutions in order to compel them to:
- verify compliance with contractual obligations by Trenitalia S.p.A.;
- ensure the full functionality of toilets and regional train services;
- guarantee that staff can report critical issues without fear of disciplinary retaliation;
- involve trade unions and commuters’ committees in defining effective and lasting solutions.
In general, this case represents a form of management that undermines the dignity of both passengers and workers, and requires urgent and structural intervention. Public spending and investment must be directed towards improving the quality of life of passengers and workers, promoting the development of the most economically disadvantaged areas. A corporate-style approach to public transport corresponds to a class-based policy that penalises, in addition to employees, the popular strata who are the main users of regional trains.
Communist Front – Calabria Federation
