Real reason the Rome airport was without fuel was printed in tommorow's edition in a german newspaper called BILD.

They report that the newly installed Computersystem in the roman main railterminal went haywire. Signals, Switches, etc. went nuts. Not one train went to or from Rome anywhere else. 200,000 travelers got stuck. That's the reason the trains carrying gas did not get through to the airport.

Don't worry though for the rest of this week the railyard workers are going on strike.

Story can be found at http://www.bild.de/service/archiv/1999/oct/13/aktuell/rom/rom.html

This is a loose translation...

-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), October 12, 1999

Answers

Any translation is better than I could come with. No sprecken de deutsch. :)

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), October 12, 1999.

Here is a very rough translation by Alta Vista's online translation service. It's pretty funny at points ("does not remain lying if tea ever with his mofa"), but you'll get the gist of the article.

By EGGERT SCHROEDER

They say some Italians to four cannot count, since a Formula One Ferrari was on three tires...

But our love-worth neighbours also still getoppt now: They cut off their resplendent capital from the outside world.

Within hours flight and eisenbahnverkehr in Rome broke down. And on the overful incident routes of chaos back-up.

At the main railway station, Termini, the most important railway node of central Italy, the computer system failed: switches, signals, indicating panels - everything played moved. Consequence: No course came raus or into the city. Two hundred thousand travelers sat on their suit-cases and sighed "Mamma mia!"

At the same time at Fiumicino airport : Airplanes, which wanted tank car orders, heard astonished: "The sprit is everything!" The company, that kept the airport supplied with kerosene (daily 3.5 million litre), had empty tanks. Nobody was forewarned.

Dozens of jets remained on the ground for hours, the travelers, only yesterday new kerosene were naturally also near-pumped.

The airport wants to sue the company. Says a spokesman: "Does not remain lying if tea ever with his mofa, because it the gasoline goes out - okay. But in an industrialized country may not so which occur."

Worse yet: For the remainder of the week airlines and railroadmen want to go on strike again.

"This all sounds like a joke, unfortunately it is true", groans "Il Messaggero", the large daily paper.

All roads lead to Rome? At the moment, almost nothing is going there.

-- Prometheus (fire@for.man), October 12, 1999.

St Francis -

Good summary. BILD was having a field day with the story, making fun of the trouble their "beloved neighbors" had run into, effectively separating The Eternal City (Roma) from the outside world. Lawsuits are being threatened (of course). Article ends up by saying, "All roads lead to Rome? At the moment, almost nothing is going anywhere."

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 12, 1999.

There's never a Babelfish around when you need one...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 12, 1999.

Even though such software still has a few kinks to be ironed out, this translation does have a certain charm, you must admit. I wish I'd had it when I bought that bottle of "Non Darei Questo Al Mio Cane" vintage '91 wine...

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), October 12, 1999.

Okay, here's my shot at a translation:

All roads lead to rome? Hardly!

Gas shortages, computer failures, strikes cripple the Italian capital.

by Eggert Schroeder

The world knows that Italians can not count to four, since a Formula 1 Ferrari ran on three wheels...

But now our lovable neighbors have topped even that: they have cut their shimmering capital off from the rest of the world.

Within hours air and rail traffic fell apart, and chaotic traffic jams developed on roads that many travellers tried to take as an alternative.

At the main rail station, the most important rail transit point in central Italy, the newly installed computer system failed: switches, signals, and message boards all went crazy. The consequence: no train could enter or leave the city. 200,000 travellers sat on their luggage and sighed 'Mamma mia!'

Meanwhile, at Fiumicino airport, airplanes that had called for tankers were astounded to hear that 'There is no more fuel!' The company that supplies the airport with 3.5 million liters of kerosene daily was in the process of cleaning the empty storage tanks. No one was warned.

Dozens of jets (and naturally their passengers as well) sat on the ground for hours. Only yesterday was new kerosene pumped in.

The airport plans to sue the company. One spokesperson said "When one teenager can't ride his motorscooter because he runs out of gas, okay. But such a thing should never happen in an industrialized country."

Worse yet: later in the week the airlines and the rail workers plan to go on strike again.

"It all sounds like a joke, but unfortunately it's all true," said the major daily 'Il Messaggero'.

All roads lead to Rome? Hardly! In an instant, almost nothing is moving.

-- Joe Gregg (jgregg@athenet.net), October 12, 1999.

(1) The Italians may not even notice Y2K...

(2) You must indeed love the part about the upcoming train and airline strikes...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), October 13, 1999.

Thanks for the full translation Joe Gregg. It was quiting time here and I had to run home. So I had no time to translate. Great Job....

-- STFrancis (STFrancis@heaven.com), October 13, 1999.

Thanks STFrancis!

See also...

Local commentary on Rome airport/train snafu (Ed Yourdon)

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001ZbL

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 13, 1999.