New tram service, but no passengers in Palermo

A new tram service in Sicily’s capital Palermo is up and running after eight years of construction, but all is not well.

Tram lines in Palermo, Sicily. Image by Salvatore Ciambra / CC BY-SA 2.0

The tram service is currently running along its designated route and stopping at all the stops – the only thing missing is the passengers. The local council has yet to agree who will finance and run the service, which will cost around €22 million a year. The mayor’s plan was to finance the tram by charging people to drive into the city centre, but this has proved unpopular with councillors from other parties, with one saying that a limited traffic zone would ‘exacerbate the smog and pollution’. Read more: thelocal.it