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Covid-19: New Austrian border rules block lorry traffic from Italy

New rules introduced on the Austria-Italy frontier have stopped lorry traffic, causing jams on the Italian side of the Brenner motorway, one of Europe's busiest.

Covid-19: New Austrian border rules block lorry traffic from Italy
Photo: Joe Klamar/AFP
Since Sunday, Austria has required goods drivers transiting through Tyrol to register beforehand and to have proof of a negative novel coronavirus test within the previous 48 hours.
 
 
That decision came after Germany decided to close its borders with Tyrol, citing a troubling surge in infections involving the South African mutation of the coronavirus.
 
Tyrol lies between Italy and Germany and its roads are heavily used by cross-continental transit traffic.
 
Tyrol's regional government said in a statement that the closure of the German border threatened to turn Tyrol into “the car park of Europe” and that it had taken measures at the Brenner crossing with Italy in order to prevent this.
 
The new checks have paralysed northbound traffic on Italy's Brenner motorway, used by thousands of lorries travelling every day to Austria and Germany.
 
As of Monday morning, a tailback of 40 kilometres had built up on the Italian side of the Brenner Pass frontier with Austria, according to several Italian media reports.
 
The company that runs the motorway said northbound traffic had slowed to 40-50 vehicles per hour, compared to 300-400 southbound vehicles entering from Austria.
 
Vehicles were being stopped in Verona, more than 200 kilometres south of the border with Austria, to check if they have the right travel documents and spare them from getting stuck near the Alpine border point, where the temperature was around -10 degrees.
 
Italian authorities also set up roadside coronavirus test centres to help northbound drivers continue their journeys, the motorway company said in a statement.
 
Road hauliers' lobby Conftrasporto-Confcommercio complained about the “enormous disruption” and appealed for help from Italy's new Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
 
The head of the association, Paolo Ugge, said Italy should retaliate by imposing swab tests on lorry drivers entering from Austria and Germany, and seek the immediate involvement of European Union authorities in the dispute.

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TRANSPORT

The rail and metro closures to expect in Rome this summer

The capital’s transport network is facing closures throughout summer 2024 amid major works ahead of the Jubilee.

The rail and metro closures to expect in Rome this summer

Rome’s train, and metro and tram lines are set to undergo considerable maintenence work between June and August this year, according to transportation companies ATAC and Trenitalia.

The latest announcements came after Rome transport councillor Eugenio Patanè in January confirmed tram line closures between May and October as part of extensive maintenance and construction works taking place across the Eternal City ahead of the 2025 Jubilee.

READ ALSO: Rome’s public transport fares set to rise this summer

“The trams are currently being replaced by buses for the duration of the works and stored at the Porta Maggiore tram depot,” said Patanè.

With the trams out of service, visitors and workers may be planning to rely on metro and rail services instead – but several of these will also be suspended or limited due to maintenence work during summer 2024. Here are some of the main closures planned:

Trains

Rome to Tivoli (FL2) – the regional transport line will be completely suspended from June 10th to June 28th. The railway passes through Tiburtina station through to Ponte di Nona, Tor Sapienza, La Rustica and finally Tivoli.

Replacement bus services are expected to run instead. You can find out more information here

Rome to Castelli Romani (FL4)  –  From July 23rd to August 31st the Castelli Line, which travels from Termini and passes through Ciampino, Frascati, Albano Laziale and Velletri, will not be running. 

The rail line will be closed to install a technology named ERTMS which will allow a greater frequency of trains to run. 

A bus replacement service has not yet been confirmed.

Metro

Line A – All stations have been closed since April from 9pm Sunday to Thursday due to track replacements between Ottaviano and Battistini. The line is expected to reopen on December 5th.

Complete closures at some stations are also planned.

READ ALSO: The transport strikes to expect in Italy in summer 2024

Spagna will be shut from July 15th to October 3rd and Ottaviano will be shut from July 22nd to September 9th. Vittorio Emanuele, which is currently closed, is expected to reopen on June 30th.

Line C – Work is set to continue throughout the summer on Rome’s newest metro line, which has been under construction since 2007 and is not yet operational.

Ongoing work on the new Metro C Venezia station, at Piazza Venezia, means continued disruption to traffic and surface-level transport this summer. The station is set to be completed by the end of December 2024 and is expected to open to passengers in 2025.

Meanwhile, the opening of new Line C metro stations at Colosseo and Porta Metronia has been pushed back to mid-2025, meaning they will not be running in time for the start of the Jubilee year as hoped.

For more information on Rome’s public transport closures, check the Trenitalia and ATAC websites when planning your journey.

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