A report commissioned by the Italian Government has stated that the planned Turin-Lyon high-speed rail will not be profitable and will have a ‘strongly negative’ financial return.
The 270km route is scheduled to connect the Italian city of Turin with Lyon in France, linking the high-speed rail networks of the two countries.
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The core section of the project includes construction of a tunnel through the Alps mountain range between Susa valley in Italy and Maurienne in France.
According to the report, the project would result in a loss of around €7bn by 2059, taking into account overalls costs and the estimated return.
The report added that the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail will procure €1.3bn through passenger traffic. However, it will not be enough to recover the costs.
The project has been a major cause of contention between the two parties of the ruling coalition in Italy. The League party has been a proponent of the rail link, while its partner 5-Star Movement wants the project to be scrapped.
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By GlobalDataScheduled to be completed in 2025, the line is expected to reduce travel time between Milan and Paris from around seven hours to nearly four hours.
Furthermore, the proponents of the project advocate that the high-speed rail line will help in removing millions of trucks from the road, reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly.
The European Union, which has invested in the project, said that it may ask for reimbursement if the project is suspended, reported AFP.
