Train to Nowhere

Crews have been trouble- shooting Florence's new lightrail system, Tramvia, for more than a year. The rails and stations still are barricaded by six-foot fencing and orange tape, snarling traffic. Meanwhile, the streetcars go back and forth all day long on test runs.

Unions support the project (jobs) and so do environmentalists (air quality).

But the second stage includes a controversial line that would swing by the Duomo and Baptistry and an underground tunnel near Palazzo Vecchio. And Florentines seem fed up with the delays and cost overruns. In a nonbinding referendum election two years ago, 53 percent of voters were against the rails, while 47 percent were in favor.

City Hall decided to build it anyway--and could, because of low voter

turnout.

Many predict no one will ride the things once they are up and running. Sounds familiar...