A cost-benefit analysis of the metro line 1 in Naples, Italy

The metro Line 1 in Naples (Italy), also called “Metrò dell’arte” (art in the Metro), is a high-quality line where many international architects were involved to ensure high aesthetic quality standards for the new stations. The “Daily Telegraph” and the CNN, have defined the new Toledo Station, one of the Line 1 metro station, the most impressive station of Europe. The aim of the paper was to evaluate, after five years its realization, the economic convenience of the most impressive section of the metro line. A cost-benefit analysis was the evaluation method performed according to both the National and the EU guide lines. The strengths in developing an “ex-post” analysis are: i) the realization and maintenance costs are exactly known (because just spent); ii) the travel demand (passenger moved by the metro line) are counted through the monitoring system and not estimated through models/surveys. Among the benefits estimated were: travel time and costs saved; hedonic value in using the high-quality metro line; environmental benefit; pollutant reduction; accident reduction; congestion reduction. Overall, the investment cost was about 897 million euro (price 2000), while the architectural high-quality standards cost was only the 6% of the total (50 million euro). Estimation results show that benefits produced by the hedonic value (perceived quality) of the high-quality stations, in 30 years, are 3.3 times higher than its realization costs with about 164 million euros (price 2000) of benefits, the 12% of the total benefits (1,367 million euro). The benefit/costs ratio (one of the measures of effectiveness used in the analysis) was equal to 1.6, sowing the high socio-economic convenience produced by this transport project.