Passengers endure frequent delays and train breakdowns.

Commuters on Rome's Metro B have faced long delays, over-crowding and malfunctioning trains in recent days, with conditions reportedly worse than usual.

The latest incident on the B line occurred at around 09.00 on Friday 24 July when a train stopped for 20 minutes at the S. Paolo station after a passenger became ill, leading to dirsuption along the entire route.

At 19.00 the evening before a train broke down for two hours at the Tiburtina station on the B line, due to a problem with its doors not closing. The passengers refused to leave the train and instead hurled abuse at the driver who barricaded himself in his cabin until police arrived.

On 22 July a Metro B train travelled between Termini and Castro Pretorio with its doors open. Rome's public transport company ATAC has launched an investigation into the event, which was captured on video.

In recent weeks there have been lengthy delays on both Metro A and B lines, as well as the Piramide to Ostia Lido service, due to a go-slow triggered by train drivers' opposition to clocking in at the beginning and end of their shifts.

On 9 July a four-year-old boy died after falling down an empty lift shaft at the Furio Camillo station, on the Metro A line, after passengers got trapped inside a malfunctioning lift.