Railways are a tool for waging war. This is what the European Union and member state governments tell us. This is why the Antimilitarist Assembly, meeting on January 11 in Carrara (MS), has called for a week of protests against wartime logistics and the militarization of rail transport for the week of March 23-29. Since its inception, the Antimilitarist Assembly has been committed to coordinating and encouraging initiatives against the production and trafficking of weapons. Therefore, we now call for a commitment to ensure that resources earmarked for wartime use are directed toward improving rail services for users, as well as improving the economic and working conditions of employees and ensuring (real) safety.
The Antimilitarist Assembly therefore supports the initiatives of the Collective of Railway Workers Against War on this issue.
Even in the railways, a flood of public money is being channeled into emergency and war policies that serve the interests of authoritarian governments and their allies, large industrial and financial corporations. At the same time, less and less money is being allocated to improving commuter services and sustainable mobility, rail safety, and improving the economic and working conditions of railway personnel.
As the disasters at Tempe in Greece and Adamuz in Spain demonstrate, rail traffic is becoming increasingly unsafe due to technological innovation, line saturation, and the decline in railway personnel. The increase in military traffic will exacerbate these critical issues if it is not offset by cuts in civilian traffic. Military transport also involves the transportation of explosive materials and devices, such as munitions. It is easy to imagine the consequences of an accident involving these trains rather than passenger trains.
On November 19, 2025, the European Commission published the EU Military Mobility Package, which was then approved by a large majority by the European Parliament on December 17.
This package brings the EU one step closer to a "military Schengen."
This measure, along with the roadmap for the transformation of the EU's defense industry, are priority areas in the White Paper and the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030.
The package aims to prepare dual-use infrastructure by 2027; to this end, it includes EUR17.65 billion proposed under the next European budget (2028-2034) for military mobility; approximately 500 hotspot projects and targeted investments to eliminate bottlenecks along priority corridors; and finally, tools to identify, strengthen, and protect strategic infrastructure.
In Italy, the projects are included in the EUR1.74 billion (over 50% allocated to rail transport) earmarked by the Connecting Europe Facility as part of the European Military Action Plan 2.0. After the stations in the provinces of Pisa (Tombolo and Pontedera) and Udine (Palmanova), the projects are concentrated in the stations of Genoa and La Spezia. Specifically, the European Union funding includes EUR28,774,201.50 to RFI for the Genoa Sampierdarena-Parco Fuori Muro station and EUR9,274,599.00 to the Eastern Ligurian Sea Port System Authority for the La Spezia Marittima station. Milano Smistamento is also involved, where work is underway on the new intermodal terminal, which could become important for military traffic, given its geographic location (Rhine-Alps axis, proximity to border crossings). The high-speed line under construction between Turin and Lyon is designated as a key hub for a military corridor, which should terminate in Kiev.
The Antimilitarist Assembly invites railway staff and service users, along with antimilitarist, pacifist, and internationalist groups, to participate in locally decided initiatives.
Antimilitarist Assembly
assembleantimilitarista@gmail.com
https://umanitanova.org/23-29-marzo-settimana-contro-la-logistica-ferroviaria-di-guerra/
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Link: (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #9-26 - March 23-29: Week Against Wartime Rail Logistics (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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