In the current month, exactly on the 15th, it will be our turn to offer
our deepest condolences to the inhabitants of the Etna area. The largestcapitalist and clientelistic speculation in the area will be
implemented, after the demolition of San Berillo, in Catania. A story
ends, that of the Circumetnea Railway, which lasted 128 years. In the
name of private interests, under the pretext of progress and speed,
making people believe they are tending towards the good of sustainable
mobility, one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world is
decapitated. The Misterbianco-Paternò landfill works begin in June; the
15th will be the last day on which you can cross the entire route from
Catania to Riposto and vice versa. After this date, no trains will
arrive to and from Catania. From 1 July, shuttles will connect the Etna
capital with Misterbianco and Lineri. For Paternò, however, no specific
indications have yet been given; the "gentlemen" said that the town will
be connected with replacement buses, for an indefinite period. We know
when speculation on local public transport began, but many aspects are
still unknown.
In recent months the Salvalacircum Committee was formed in Catania.
These are men and women free from any party or institutional
superstructure, converging on safeguarding the railway line. An online
petition, both digital and physical leafleting, both media and
institutional pressure. Then a conference held last April 15th,
organized by the aforementioned Committee, open to all inhabitants of
the Etna area. The intent was to highlight what is about to happen to
the only narrow gauge railway line left in Sicily. The burial of the
Catania Borgo-Paternò section represents the completion of a process
that began at the end of the 1990s. Then the route from the Borgo to the
Port was filled in, starting the construction of the metro. Then, in
2016, the inauguration of the Galatea-Stesicoro section, coinciding with
the decommissioning of the Porto station. Opening of the Borgo-Nesima
line in 2017, with the exception of the Cibali station which will be
inaugurated in 2021. Now the opening of the Monte Po-Fontana section is
imminent, which takes place during the publication of the newspaper, not
surprisingly postponed for a long time .
The Ferrovia Circumetnea is a single company, which itself decides how
to use the allocated funds. The connivance between politics, service
managers and private interests of cement manufacturers leads to a
situation of total disinterest in efficient public transport. The
European Union has allocated PNRR funds for the construction of the
metro in the city, but this is being done in the wrong area. Initially
the PUMS (urban sustainable mobility plan) envisaged a real extension of
the metro within the urban boundaries of Catania. In 2021 it was
falsified, to endorse the project towards Paternò, misrepresented by
modernization. The intent was to obtain the European funding that is so
tempting for speculators. Then Salvaiciclisti, the nucleus of the
Salvalacircum Committee, managed to access the documents and presented a
complaint. A technicality initially prevented the PNRR funds from being
obtained, which was then deceived.
There are many dark aspects to the matter, all distorted because
businessmen still want to make people believe that the "subway" to
Paternò is a work for the common good. Often, in the name of it,
however, power, in any of its variants, represses and restricts freedom,
in this case on travel. The landfill works now affect the
Misterbianco-Paternò section; while the Monte Po-Misterbianco lot,
closer to the city, has not yet been contracted and therefore the start
of the works is not known. The new underground railway route, of
ordinary gauge, is incompatible with the historic line. It means that,
assuming the completion of the works, commuters who continue beyond
Paternò will have to change trains, with inconvenience. With the new
route, the Lineri station will be abolished, while those of Misterbianco
and Paternò will be decentralized, for the latter to the Ardizzone area.
As early as June their usability will be compromised. There is no
connection between Paternò Ardizzone and the centre. Previously the
project included the creation of a tunnel connecting the two parts of
the country; with the cuts in 2024 this was eliminated. Further
restrictions on funds are expected in 2026, the year of presumed
completion of the "subway". How can the gentlemen think of making people
believe that they will finish such an expensive work within two years,
when it took 10 years to complete the underground section up to Monte Po
and the execution of the works on the Monte Po-Misterbianco lot is an
unknown? The landfill from Catania Borgo to Paternò is an obscenity, a
mortification of the territory, an unacceptable and unspeakable
ugliness. After Misterbianco the continuity with the urban fabric of
Catania ends, the landscape begins with the countryside. In recent
months, right in these parts, Graziella Puleo suffered a horrible
expropriation of the land inherited from her father. Only the previous
day the woman found a notice hanging on the gate. A serious attack,
which also damages the identity of the Etna area, whose rocky nature,
with lava stone, places limits on the appetites of those who want to
pierce the area. There is also the risk that residents, such as those
who live in Piano Tavola, lose their homes, because digging can cause
the homes to collapse. Particularly with the new route, travel times
will not be reduced, so nothing will change. It should be remembered
that the S.M. stretch Licodia-Biancavilla-Adrano is already buried. A
bad wound, however not fatal, since over the years the Circumetnea train
continued to circulate on a narrow gauge. Therefore no changes to the
nature of the tracks, which are narrower and can cross inaccessible
territories, this is the essence of the railway line, nor inconvenience
passengers to change trains. With the intentions of politicians,
capitalists and various lackeys, this will happen instead. It was simply
enough to guarantee circulation, even with multiple trips, being able to
cross at a regular pace, and maintenance of the trains.
The Circumetnea Railway is in my heart, on a political level I have done
everything to defend it. I have been using it for over 12 years, as I
have chosen to encourage sustainable mobility in my life. Over time I
have noticed changes, unfortunately for the last four years it has
gotten worse. Under the pretext of the pandemic, FCE managers have cut
over 60% of trains, with an inadequate replacement service. The aim is
to implement a horrendous drive for profit. The historic line is
considered by businessmen to be old, incompatible with today's travel
needs, characterized by a total alienation to cover speeds that are
increasingly unsustainable on a human level. A so-called progress, which
destroys the identity of places and what characterizes them. If the
gentlemen succeed in their intentions it means that a solid organization
from below is missing.
Angela Strano
https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
_________________________________________
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