Italian transport ministry to invest €425 million in Rome metro network.

Rome's troubled subway system is to be modernised thanks to an injection of €425 million in state funds, following an agreement between Italy's transport ministry and the capital.

The deal was signed by transport minister Danilo Toninelli and Rome mayor Virginia Raggi, both members of the populist Movimento 5 Stelle.

The money will be invested over the coming months in modernising the A and B lines, including improving security measures, as well as purchasing new trains.

Raggi described the agreement as: "a cascade of investments to intervene in a massive way on the metro lines of our city, making them modern, fast and punctual."

Toninelli framed the deal in less effusive terms, saying it would result in "fewer breakdowns, more comfort in waiting areas and I think even more punctuality."

The deal was announced the same week that sections of Rome's Metro A line were closed unexpectedly, two days in a row, due to technical faults. The temporary closures led to commuter chaos, with reports of an insufficient number of substitute buses, some of whose drivers reportedly did not know the routes.