Italy to review environmental impact of rail link with France

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2005

ROME (AFP) — The Italian government said it would look again at the impact on the environment of the planned high-speed rail link between Italy and France after stubborn protests by Alpine communities.

The announcement came at the end of the a meeting between five ministers and local politicians opposed to the route of the link, which would run between Turin in northern Italy and Lyon in east-central France.

In recent weeks tens of thousands of people living in the Val di Susa in the Italian Alps have kept up a series of protests against the scheme, the cost of which is estimated at 12.5 billion euros (14.75 billion dollars) and which would not be completed until 2020.

"If the government is serious about carrying out an environmental impact study and...