IF articles

Summary - The Italian rail network, for the majority State-owned (16751 km), but with significant links (3000 km) of local government properties (Regions and the Au- tonomous Province of Bolzano) has an extension and ram- ification that makes it a unique and precious heritage for Europe, forming the cornerstone of mobility and sustain- able economic development.
In a redesign of the production environment and the so- cial system, the recovery of those links of the precious rail network - whose reactivation has trivial costs and substan- tial benefits and can become an important “exemplum se- quendum” in Italy and in those areas in Europe which mo- bility rail mode was sacrificed - is an opportunity of great interest.
The article aims to analyse the railway Arona-Santhià highlighting through a brief geographical analysis its poten- tiality as an axis of regional connection and reinforcement of the international connection Italy - Switzerland, for ex- ample by taking the role that historically had the opening of the Simplon Tunnel in 1906 as axis Turin-Switzerland.
A brief cost analysis reveals that the benefits are greater than the costs required for the reactivation, framing the line as an instrument of mobility in the region and Europe as well as potential useful tool to freight logistics.
In the last years of the last century and the first decade of the current one we have seen a revival of punitive policies for the rail system to the benefit of choices in favour of road transport; such choices remind the policies of the Sixties, when many complementary railways were sacrificed on the altar of individual mobility and road: choices that had pro- found consequences on Italy’s development model.