The Pnrr brought the funds to build, all together and within two years, line 2 of the Valli tramway, the railway connection between the city and the airport, the new iron and rubber stations, the Brt line of electric buses towards Dalmine. Gianni Scarfone he was there while these ideas were put on paper, over the last three decades, he was there as general director of Atb while the projects were launched and he is still there working on them, as CEO of Teb and board member in Sacbo airport. For 30 years he was the key man in many political and administrative steps, when it came to making choices about Bergamo’s mobility. «I started in the 80s in Ferrovie Nord, then Mayor Vicentini called me to Atb». Since then, collaboration with five mayors and six municipal administrations. The political colors of the councils changed, Scarfone remained in his place. Now the work must be finished and, above all, the future of public transport services must be defined: how to exploit the potential that the new infrastructures offer to the territory. Starting from T2, whose construction site has just been inaugurated.
How much inauguration rhetoric is there and how much is real when it is said that a work like the T2 will change the life of the area?
«There is data that indicates what the impact will be and we have the experience of T1. We expect 4 million passengers a year on the line to Val Brembana, between 10 and 12 thousand passengers a day on weekdays. This translates into 26 million kilometers less car traffic per year, an estimated 10% reduction in traffic on that axis, which moreover is often directed from the valley not only to the city, but also to other destinations in the area. The transport cost/benefit analysis says that this work will bring clear advantages to the area.”
15 years have passed since the inauguration of T1. How will the T2 be innovative compared to its “sister” line?
«What is interesting about T2 is the number of stops within the city, 9, which characterizes the service. Certainly this time there was more collaboration, there was broader consensus from the local institutions and therefore it was possible to design the ancillary and fundamental works, such as the parking lots and cycle paths, in a more coherent way. But then there is a common trait with the T1, which is the tramway’s ability to accompany urban regeneration projects, or rather in some way to drive them.”
The tramway as a factor of urban planning modification.
«Yes, we are in the Tod logic, transport oriented development. We see it with Chorus Life, coinciding with which there will be the junction between the two tram lines, with the former Gres operation involving municipalities north of the city. In the future the same could happen with the former Reggiani, where we have nevertheless prepared the project for a future stop. The tramway, in this model, is a continuation of the city also in the territories of other municipalities”.
A century ago the city and the province were covered with tram and railway lines, which were then dismantled in favor of road transport. Lessons for the future?
«Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century there was a great development of tram and railway lines in the Bergamo area, after the Second World War this expansion stopped and a traffic model based on private transport prevailed. Today we are catching up, but in addition to studying the past I am interested in looking at what happened in other countries. In France, in Nantes, I was there in 1985 when the first tram line was inaugurated: today they have thirty of them there. Then there is the case of Nice, which closed the center to cars and developed a tram network: it means changing many things in a city, not just laying tracks.”
Is there space in the city for other tram lines, as had been hypothesized in recent years?
«We had hypothesized a tram line that would reach the new hospital from via Corridoni. An idea that never took shape for various reasons. There is a question of costs, but then there are also other projects that we have managed to develop, such as line C, the first completely electric in Italy”.
Speaking of line C and the future Brt, another electric bus line that will connect Bergamo to Dalmine, politicians are once again discussing the usefulness of preferential lanes and their impact on city traffic.
«This is a problem not only for Bergamo but for the whole country: if we think that in Italy over 700 out of 1,000 inhabitants own a car, we understand why this approach is still widespread. We are talking about a country in which sustainable mobility systems, from bicycles to public transport, make up around 20% of the vehicles in circulation. In Bergamo and in the North in general we are around 30%. But the objective for the next few years, let’s say after 2026, with the completion of the Pnrr works, is to rise to 40%. It is the goal that Europe places before us and that those very funds give us the historic opportunity to achieve.”
Hundreds of millions of euros have poured into the Bergamo area for the new intermodal hub, which will incorporate the current stations, and for railway and tramway works: is this the turning point that has been awaited for decades?
«Certainly on an infrastructural level, I say that for example the new station project is the most important in recent decades, it will allow all the terminals to be brought together in a single hub, with functional choices to connect the different modes of transport together. But then it will be decisive to understand what type of service you want to provide, with the different lines under construction. I’ll give the example of the railway doubling, between Bergamo and Ponte San Pietro, then also towards Montello. What is expected today, with the elimination of some level crossings as well as the doubling of the tracks, is an improvement in the efficiency of the current service. There is no intention to exploit this opportunity to use that railway section for a true metropolitan service.”
Doesn’t this happen because there is a lack of sensitivity to this objective in the railway world, which is responsible for these works?
«Especially on the Trenitalia side, there is a lack of awareness that railway lines can be used for metropolitan services on a district scale, with trains every 15 minutes, let’s say. But there is also a lack of push from the Lombardy Region in this direction, for reasons of resources, I think. I think that between now and 2026 there is the possibility to reflect and redesign the type of service we will have on future infrastructures, but we must take advantage of this time so as not to miss an opportunity.”
Does the same apply to the rail connection between Bergamo and Orio?
«Yes in the sense that the service contract currently provides for extending the route of some trains from Milan to Bergamo to the airport. In this way, also confirming all the intermediate stops, we will have a travel time from the airport to the Central station of at least one hour and 10 minutes. It’s too much. And beyond this, for such a service to be competitive with road transport, a much higher frequency of trips is needed than what current regional trains can guarantee.”
In what way, even as a director of Sacbo, do you think the project should be modified?
«There is a Malpensa Express, something similar is also needed for Orio. A Caravaggio Express, a train that, stopping only in Bergamo and at most another intermediate station, covers the distance between the airport and Milan in one hour. And which has a high frequency of trips, at least one every 20 minutes, with a unique livery and a quality that makes the offer attractive for travelers disembarking at the airport. There are certainly problems to address, such as the capacity of Milan’s Central Station, or the mutton jump still to be built in Treviglio, but there is certainly room to resolve these issues.”
What is Sacbo doing in this direction?
«President Giovanni Sanga has addressed RFI and the Region on several occasions asking them to reflect on these solutions. We need a table where all the actors involved sit, Trenord, Sacbo, the Region and the entire local system. I believe that establishing this table should be one of the tasks of the next mayor of the city.”
What advantages would a «Caravaggio Express» give to Bergamo?
«The advantages for the city would be evident in terms of a better connection with the airport, but also in less road traffic generated around the airport. Together with all the other activities undertaken to contain the environmental impact of aircraft, this is one of the points on which we as Sacbo are working. In addition to this, Bergamo commuters would have a further high-efficiency transport offer at their disposal.”
The other project on which he has worked for a long time and which is about to be completed is that of the car park in Via Fara in the Upper Town. In hindsight, don’t you think there was a major communication gap regarding that work, between Bergamo Parcheggi and the city?
«There was a communication deficit on the part of the company, also due to the approach of some corporate components (the majority of the shares belong to Best in parking, a private company, Atb is in the minority, ed). The project went through critical moments, first the landslide which required immediate safety measures, then the judicial investigation. At some points there was also a lack of dialogue with the municipal administration, then with the arrival of the Gori council it was possible to complete a project which I continue to believe will provide important answers to the problems of mobility in the Upper Town.”
That is, will it be worth it in the end?
«The car park will allow cars to be removed from various squares in the Upper Town and, it should not be underestimated, between spaces purchased through concessions and season tickets, it will guarantee many residents a parking space. Alternatively, the inhabitants of Città Alta will have seats on the yellow lines on Viale delle Mura. And at the same time it will be possible to rationalize the access of the cars of visitors with paid places, thanks to the camera system and infomobility, avoiding the traffic of those who go up to the Upper Town looking for places that are not there. The important thing, however, is that this whole mechanism works together.”
What can’t be done wrong to make it work?
«It is necessary to best synchronize the infomobility system with electronic panels at the access to the city and the center and with the apps. But also prepare a constant presence of the local police, especially in the early stages.”
Do you see the risk that, due to political choice, cars could return to some squares in the Upper Town?
«I sincerely do not believe that the next administrators of Bergamo, whoever the next mayor may be, can question this objective. Seeing Piazza della Cittadella and Piazza Mascheroni today, I don’t think we can go back.”
But, in decades spent dealing with mobility for the city, has the thought of jumping to the other side of the fence and dealing with it as a politician never crossed your mind?
«Actually, no. If anything, I had the opportunity to work on regional horizons or to go and deal with mobility in larger cities. But the development of mobility in Bergamo in the long run fascinated me and convinced me to stay here.”
