The evaluation of public investments according to the cost-benefit analysis: An application to the formia-gaeta railway line

Not always a decision-making process involving the transport system leads to making rational choices. There is a syndrome known in the literature as “planning fallacy”, according to which planners overestimate the benefits that an intervention will produce and/or underestimate the costs for its realisation and maintenance. The direct consequence of this syndrome is the implementation of “unnecessary” interventions or less useful and shared than others. In November 2016, the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport drew up the “Guidelines for the evaluation of investments in public works” which, in line with European guidelines, aim to guarantee more efficient and effective transport planning in Italy. Starting from these considerations, the aim of the study was to apply the recent Italian guidelines for drafting a cost-benefit analysis relating to the redevelopment of the historical Formia-Gaeta railway line located in the tourist area of Lazio region (centre of Italy), which suffers from traffic congestion problems and which is lacking in adequate public transport services