How to get to and from hospital in Italy – How to avoid traffic jams
As the sun sets on the first day of spring, the Alps are slowly opening to the West, and the snow begins to melt away.
However, traffic jams are still in the air.
With only a few hours remaining before the first trains leave for Italy, it is easy to forget the problems the Alps have seen in the past few weeks.
On Monday, authorities imposed a two-hour delay for trains running between Loma Linda and the city of Bologna.
And on Tuesday, the number of trains carrying tourists between the cities of Florence and Genoa has more than doubled.
In the last few weeks, trains have been diverted to avoid snow and freezing temperatures, while trains between the two cities have been delayed by an average of 14 minutes each.
The delays have made it impossible for locals to get into the mountains and into the Alps, said Giuseppe Bonomi, a train operator in Genoa.
And for many Italians, the region’s main attraction is the mountains.
As the snow melts, the view from the train window is almost as magnificent as from a helicopter, and some locals are even convinced that the snow will be enough to bring the Alps back to life.
But for many, the only thing that matters is getting to and fro from the main railway station.
For many Italians it’s the Alps.
“It’s hard to think of anything better than to travel to Italy from the Alps,” said Francesco Caffani, a 34-year-old teacher from Florence.
“The train is an attraction for everyone, the train is the place to be.”
So why is the Alps the main attraction?
Italian President Sergio Mattarella told a news conference on Monday that the Alps were part of Italy’s heritage.
The Alps are the only part of the country that has not been visited by the Roman Empire, he said.
So, he asked, why is Italy the main tourist destination?
“It comes down to the simple fact that, at least in Italy, there is not much money,” Mattarella said.
The problem, he added, was that the Alpine tourism industry has not yet reached its potential.
A study by Italian business weekly La Stampa estimated that just 0.1% of Italian tourists had visited the Alps in the first three months of the year, with an average price of €8 per person.
“In the past year, there has been an increase in the number and price of trains in Italy.
But the Alps remain a tourist destination that is very niche,” said Giampaolo Razzi, the president of the Italian Federation of Tourism.”
They have not been explored and developed to their full potential.”
The main reasons why Italians have stopped coming to the Alps include the cost, the cold and the fact that the region is only a little over 2,000km (1,800 miles) long.
“People in Italy are scared to go to the mountains,” said Caffano, a father of two.
“But in Italy you have to be afraid.
If you are scared, you are going to have a hard time getting there.”
In fact, as the Alps disappear, so does the idea of visiting them.
A recent poll found that only 14% of Italians believe they would go to Italy again in the next 10 years.
“There is a big disconnect between the tourism industry and the reality of the Alpine region,” said Bonomie, who has spent three decades working as a train conductor in the Alps and has seen trains get stuck on the way to and back from the cities.
“When we go to places like Florence, Genoa, Bolognese, we are really scared of what happens to the train and the passengers.
And we are afraid of getting stuck.”
The train operators’ fears may be overblown, though.
There are some signs that things are turning around for the region.
In May, the regional government issued a permit for a new train line that will connect Loma Linda and Genoese towns.
And a week later, trains began to move between the towns.
It’s not clear yet whether the new trains will reach the Alps before the winter is over.
It is also not clear whether the region will be able to recover its tourism base by 2019.
The Alpine region has been hit hard by the global financial crisis, but it is still booming and it is unclear whether the economic downturn will be permanent.
“A lot of the problems that were caused by the economic crisis, like unemployment, are gone.
And the tourism is still very strong,” said Razzuolo, the rail operator.”
Now we can say that tourism is back.”