The debut on Sunday of Rome's
third underground line, Metro C, was marred by a technical
problem that caused its first passengers to disembark, wait
about 11 minutes, and then board a different train, sources said
Monday.
Metro C, unlike Rome's A and B lines, is a driverless system
whose first tract went into service Sunday, traveling from the
eastern Rome neighborhood of Centocelle to the eastern station
of Pantano, nearly 13 km away.
Rome's executive councillor for public transport, Guido
Improta, said a software error was responsible for the first
train stopping four stations short of its final destination.
The train did reach Pantano after the delay,and trains ran
smoothly for the rest of the day.
A university student among the first passengers said, "It's
fantastic. It seems like we're in a European capital city".
Not everyone was as enthusiastic, however.
Italian consumer group Codacons cited elevators and
escalators that were out of service, uncomfortable seats with
little legroom, and excessively high temperatures in the train
carriages.
Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino rode the line on Sunday with Rome
city councilmembers.
Metro C has been under construction for seven years and
construction isn't expected to be fully complete until 2020.
The inauguration was originally scheduled for October 11 but
was delayed almost a month due to technical problems with the
driverless software program.
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