Hundreds of passengers, including a 5-month-old baby, were stranded overnight in a broken-down train with no heat as temperatures dipped to below freezing, AP quoted news reports as saying today. The high-speed train from Lecce, in southeastern Italy, had been scheduled to arrive in Rome at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. It broke down in the countryside near Naples and arrived at the Termini station at 7:15 a.m. Sunday, reports said. There were about 450 passengers on board. It took about 20 hours to complete the 500-kilometer (310-mile) trip. The 5-month-old baby was taken to a hospital as a precaution, and the railways company said it would reimburse passengers for the tickets and noted that it had provided them comfort _ such as blankets and milk, the ANSA news agency reported. Consumer group Adusbef called on the railways company to pay ¤500 (US$725) to each passenger in damages. Much of Italy has been experiencing cold weather, with temperatures falling to minus 4 Celsius (24 Fahrenheit) in Milan and minus 2 Celsius (28 Fahrenheit) in Rome. Heavy snowfall caused officials to close two airports in southeastern Italy for a few hours on Saturday. Travel slowed on highways across Italy and schools in several regions were ordered closed Monday. The low temperatures are expected to continue for a few more days, forecasters say.
