In Italy, Freight Transport Goes Off the Rails

Summer is the season that puts Italy’s transport system to the toughest test, exposing it to delays and breakdowns. Yet it would be wrong to think congestion—the real root of the problem—strikes only in the summer. It’s a year-round issue, especially in cities. The trouble is, Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan pours most of its funds into big new infrastructure projects, when a smarter strategy would be to “think small”: maintaining what already exists and, above all, strengthening local public transport, the daily lifeline for millions of people.