The Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport is pushing forward a sweeping expansion of railway security forces, planning to increase uniformed FS Security personnel from the current 1,348 to 1,700 units by 2030 across major train stations nationwide. The move builds on demonstrated success: assaults on railway staff have dropped 47% and station thefts fell 46% in 2026 compared to 2025—statistics Minister Matteo Salvini attributes to the existing security force as he pledges to "control stations meter by meter" in response to what he describes as "too much riff-raff" in public transit hubs.
Why This Matters:
• Crime reduction achieved: With the current 1,348 FS Security personnel, assaults on railway staff dropped 47% and station thefts fell 46% in 2026 compared to 2025
• Future expansion planned: The force will grow to 1,700 units as part of the Strategic Plan 2026-2030, building on this proven success
• Visible changes ahead: Expect more uniformed guards at major hubs including Roma Termini, Milano Centrale, Napoli, Firenze, Bologna, Venezia, and Torino
• Ongoing debate: Labor unions and opposition parties question whether private security can replace traditional police forces
• Technology upgrades: Infrastructure improvements including AI-driven surveillance and gate systems planned through 2030
The Numbers Behind the Current Success
Recent figures released following a meeting between Salvini and Ferrovie dello Stato executives demonstrate tangible results achieved with the current security force. The existing force of just over 1,300 FS Security operatives has contributed to a dramatic decline in violent incidents targeting railway employees, with aggressions down nearly half year-over-year in 2026 compared to 2025.
Theft reports from stations across Italy have followed a similar trajectory, dropping 46% during the same comparison period. These statistics represent tangible improvements for the millions of Italians who rely on the national rail network daily, whether for commuting to work in urban centers or traveling between regions.
The Lega party leader has made railway security a cornerstone of his infrastructure portfolio, framing the expansion as both a public safety imperative and a quality-of-life issue for passengers who encounter antisocial behavior, harassment, or criminal activity in transit spaces.
What the Expansion Actually Entails
Despite the dramatic terminology, the plan centers on bolstering FS Security, a subsidiary of the state-owned railway group responsible for protecting stations and trains. The proposed increase to 1,700 personnel represents a substantial 26% expansion from current staffing levels.
Beyond raw numbers, the strategy emphasizes a visible uniformed presence at major transit nodes. Infrastructure Minister Salvini has outlined plans to deploy additional men and women in company livery at the busiest stations, particularly those serving as interregional hubs or termini for high-speed rail lines.
The rollout targets key metropolitan stations first: Milano Centrale and Rogoredo (the latter slated to host a new Security Academy), Roma Termini (which will house a national Control Room), along with major stations in Firenze, Napoli, Bologna, Venezia, Palermo, Torino, and Bari. Secondary expansions will reach Trento, Trieste, Perugia, Pescara, and Cagliari in subsequent phases.
Complementing the personnel surge, FS has committed to technological upgrades: enhanced CCTV networks with artificial intelligence-driven monitoring, access control gates and turnstiles (already being expanded at Milano stations and the Passante network), and drone surveillance for sensitive infrastructure corridors, especially along Alta Velocità high-speed lines.
The Pushback from Unions and Opposition
The initiative has sparked considerable friction among labor organizations and political adversaries, who question both the efficacy and philosophy underpinning the approach.
MOSAP, the autonomous police union, acknowledges that increased vigilance helps but argues that public security cannot be outsourced to private contractors or military-adjacent forces. The union emphasizes that stations are complex environments requiring the specialized training, legal authority, and operational coordination that only state police forces possess. MOSAP's position: FS Security should support, not substitute, the presence of Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri, and local police.
The six major transport unions—Filt Cgil, Fit-Cisl, Uiltrasporti, Ugl Ferrovieri, Fast Confsal, and Orsa Trasporti—have jointly called for an urgent meeting of the safety observatory, demanding better coordination among institutions, law enforcement, and railway management. They want structural interventions that include a "substantial reinforcement" of traditional public security forces on trains and platforms, backed by updated regulations and infrastructure investments. The unions criticize the Ministry of Interior's limited participation in security planning.
Grassroots labor groups such as CUB-SGB-CAT have gone further, rejecting what they see as the militarization and dismantling of public transport, advocating instead for worker-led campaigns to secure genuine improvements.
Political Battle Lines
Opposition parties in Parliament have framed Salvini's security agenda as part of a broader ideological shift toward punitive rather than preventative measures.
Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (Greens and Left Alliance) criticizes the government's reliance on "tasers, batons, and pepper spray," calling it a reductive and ideological response that ignores underlying social conditions driving insecurity. They argue the plan amounts to propaganda with little concrete long-term impact.
The Partito Democratico and allied groups warn against a securitarian drift that prioritizes military-style responses and defense expenditures over investments in healthcare, education, and social welfare. They contend that channeling resources into armed enforcement risks transforming Italy into what one lawmaker described as a "Far West" of rights restrictions and escalating repression.
The Movimento 5 Stelle has accused the administration of weaponizing security policy to stifle dissent, while Italia Viva lawmakers have questioned whether the plan addresses root causes or merely creates a theatrical display of force.
Impact on Residents and Daily Commuters
For the average passenger navigating Italy's sprawling rail network, the practical implications are mixed. The visible reduction in assaults and theft already achieved in 2026 is undeniable—a material improvement for railway employees who have long demanded safer working conditions, and for travelers who have experienced intimidation, pickpocketing, or harassment.
Yet the debate over whether private security personnel can effectively manage serious criminal incidents or public order challenges remains unresolved. FS Security operatives lack the arrest powers and investigative authority of sworn police officers, raising questions about their capacity to intervene in violent confrontations or address organized criminal activity.
Commuters at major terminals like Roma Termini or Milano Centrale—historically flashpoints for petty crime, drug dealing, and aggressive panhandling—are already noticing increased patrols. As the expansion to 1,700 personnel progresses through 2030, this presence will intensify. Smaller regional stations, however, are unlikely to see comparable enhancements in the near term, as resources concentrate on high-traffic nodes.
The technological component—AI-enhanced surveillance and expanded camera networks—brings privacy considerations into the mix. While proponents argue these tools deter crime and assist investigations, civil liberties advocates worry about the normalization of pervasive monitoring in public spaces without adequate oversight.
European Context and Comparative Approaches
Italy's strategy sits within a broader European trend toward integrated, technology-driven railway security, though its emphasis on private uniformed forces distinguishes it from some neighbors.
The European Union has prioritized cybersecurity resilience under Regulation 2026/1184, which integrates the NIS 2 directive on cyber risk management and the CER directive on critical entity resilience. Brussels is pushing member states toward harmonized frameworks for cross-border traffic management, supply chain security, and digital infrastructure protection—concerns amplified by recent sabotage incidents affecting rail networks in multiple countries.
Germany has adopted a public awareness model, launching campaigns like "In sicurezza in viaggio" (Safe Travel) in Munich, combining information on safety devices with behavioral guidance. Deutsche Bahn and MVG deploy approximately 200 security personnel daily in the Munich metro area, working alongside federal and local police with accessible intercom connections for passengers.
France, where SNCF chairs the UIC Security Platform through mid-2026, balances human presence with advanced surveillance, though extreme weather events have increasingly strained infrastructure. The United Kingdom similarly integrates British Transport Police—a dedicated law enforcement agency—with private security contractors, maintaining clearer jurisdictional boundaries than Italy's evolving model.
Italy's reliance on a state railway subsidiary rather than a dedicated transport police force or contracted private firms creates a hybrid structure that occupies a middle ground: more accountable than purely commercial security, yet less empowered than traditional law enforcement.
What Comes Next
The Strategic Plan 2026-2030 commits to sustained personnel growth and infrastructure modernization, with quarterly assessments tracking incident rates, response times, and passenger perception surveys. The Ministry has indicated that gate and turnstile installations will expand beyond Milan to other major cities, though specific timelines remain fluid.
Funding for the expansion draws from both FS Group operational budgets and allocations within the national infrastructure plan, though opposition lawmakers have pressed for transparency on total costs and whether resources could be redirected to bolster traditional police staffing.
The Control Room in Roma Termini, designed to coordinate nationwide monitoring and incident response, represents the operational nerve center of the initiative. Its success will largely determine whether the integrated approach can deliver coordinated action during emergencies, disruptions, or large-scale security events.
For residents and travelers, the immediate takeaway is straightforward: the current 1,348 FS Security personnel have already achieved measurable crime reductions in 2026. As the force expands to 1,700 through 2030, expect increasingly visible uniformed personnel, more cameras, and more controlled access at the stations you use most frequently. Whether that expanded presence translates to lasting safety improvements or merely shifts problems to less-monitored areas will depend on sustained investment, effective coordination with police, and a willingness to address the social dynamics—homelessness, addiction, mental health crises—that unions and critics insist no amount of guards or gates can solve alone.
