Mayor Matteo Renzi has heard the
protest against the proposed underground high-speed train line, TAV, originally
planned to arrive at a new underground station designed by architect Norman
Foster in the ex-Macelli area.
Renzi recently scrapped the
Foster project and announced that the TAV would instead stop in Florence’s central train station, Santa Maria Novella (SMN).
The new route would
give passengers quicker access to the historic centre and the Fortezza da
Basso, which Palazzo Vecchio plans to turn into a high-profile convention
centre.
The TAV line has been one of the most highly contested
urban infrastructure works in Florence.
The former centre-left city administration, headed by Leonardo Domenici, first
presented the ambitious plan in 2002. With a price tag starting at 380 million
euro, the TAV line, however, has never gained the full support of local
residents and environmentalists. According to the original plan, a 400-meter
deep, 7.5-kilometer long tunnel was supposed to pass under commercial and
residential areas in the city centre.
The risk of an environmental
disaster is substantial. The environmental debate began when officials realized
that the tunnel would likely affect the underground water tables that feed the Arno. This could cause the ground above and around the tunnel to give way
and even cause the collapse of buildings situated above and near the tunnel.
Concerned residents also joined
calls to stop the TAV tunnel, which would have taken some ten years to build,
and have launched an array of No TAV committees. Locals believe the high-speed
trains will cause vibration, noise pollution and air pollution.
Renzi also believes the proposed
TAV tunnel (which was to start in Campo di Marte and end at the ex-Macelli,
just 1.5 km north of SMN) poses too much of a threat to the environment, and
the city in general. As a result, he said, the plan would be re-evaluated and
undergo considerable modification.
On October 13, Renzi provided a
few details on his vision of the TAV: ‘The high speed trains will now arrive at
SMN station, below platform 16 to be precise; it will be a non-station, meaning
that it will only be an underground stop along the TAV route. This adjustment
will allow us to regain centrality. Florence will have the only high-speed station in Italy located in the heart of the city.’
Although nothing is official, Renzi says he will be
negotiating with officials from the Ferrovie della Stato to discuss the future
of the TAV line in Florence.
