Increase of users after six new stations open.

The numbers of commuters using Rome's third underground line Metro C have more than doubled since the opening of six new stations on 29 June, according to the capital's daily newspaper Il Messaggero.

Il Messaggero quotes 27,596 passengers on 30 June, its first full day of service. This is an improvement on the numbers registered in the first few days following the opening of Metro C last November, when only 12,000 passengers a day were using the line.

The six new stations from Centocelle in the direction of the city centre – Mirti, Gardenie, Teano, Malatesta, Pigneto and Lodi – cover just over 5 km, and bring the stretch of Metro C in operation to about 18 km. They have been added to the existing 15 from Pantano to Centocelle, going towards S. Giovanni.

Since construction began in 1990, the troubled Metro C project has been beset with difficulties including funding overspends, lengthy delays and the abandonment of several of the stations in the initial plans for the section across the historic centre from the Colosseum to Castel S. Angelo caused by the discovery of archaeological remains underground.