Train breakdown, Rfi suspends contract with Str92. Besides the nail there is the fragility of the national network

The company is Str92 of Fontana Liri (Frosinone), which specialises in topography, geodesy, and rail network monitoring. 'We are reconstructing precisely what happened yesterday: before we speak we want to have a very clear picture of what happened,' Giuseppe Proia, administrator, told Ansa. 'We have not yet appointed any lawyers and we have not made any decisions regarding the suspension of the contract with Rfi. Before anything, we want to have a clear picture,' Proia concluded.

It's not just the nail
Now, as the protests begin to thin out, there are those among insiders and experts who look upstream and therefore at the causes of what happened. Reasons that go beyond the simple fact and which, as they reiterate, 'deserve careful reflection'.

'The news of the new train breakdown that blocked the circulation of trains between Roma Termini and Roma Tiburtina is an important indicator of the fragility of the Italian railway network,' comments Federico Miscali, engineer and president of OIC i and coordinator of the Network of Technical Professions of Sardinia. 'This event highlights several structural issues that go beyond the single technical error mentioned by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.

Constant interventions are needed
Not just one element, therefore, but a set of situations that, according to the experts, need constant intervention. "The complexity of managing such a vast transport network requires very detailed maintenance plans, the involvement of highly qualified personnel, and the integration of modern technologies that can automate and improve the monitoring and management of critical infrastructures," he adds. "The railway system requires redundancy and continuous technological updates to prevent disasters like this one.

Rethinking railway infrastructure management
There is then the special case: 'The accident highlights the need to rethink the management of Italy's railway infrastructure, investing in redundancy, automation and, above all, adequate training of the workforce,' Miscali continues. 'It is essential to adopt a strategic approach, which contemplates the resilience of the system and its ability to adapt quickly to unforeseen problems.

Preventive maintenance and not breakage maintenance
And if in order to decide how to act in the immediate future 'it is necessary to wait for the actual construction of the dynamics of events', Miscali reiterates that 'in any case, one cannot disregard a specific programming and planning of maintenance, therefore preventive maintenance and not breakage maintenance'.

Between inconvenience and damage
In addition to the technical aspect that affects the entire infrastructure system and thus the operation of the vehicles, there is also the service aspect. Because every cancelled or delayed run causes inconvenience and problems for those who, for one reason or another, had planned to depart.

Explaining how one should behave when faced with such situations is lawyer Felice Petillo of the national Federconsumatori.

How to get compensation
"Those who suffered the effects of the blockade yesterday and therefore of the serious delay," he said, "if they did not leave at all, they can ask for a full refund of the price or the use of a date of their choice, except for the reimbursement of damages. Those who, on the other hand, departed and arrived more than 120 minutes late, "may ask for 50% of the ticket, except for the reimbursement of damages". There is then a procedure to be followed when requesting compensation for damages: 'In this case you must send a complaint to the transport company (which will then take it back to the person who caused the damage) asking for compensation,' he argues. 'If there is no response, you must initiate a conciliation procedure with the associations with which the state railways have also signed a protocol. From the head of the association that deals with consumer protection, a suggestion to 'rely on the recognised associations that deal precisely with these cases'.