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This paper reviews past evaluations of the Lyon–Turin High-Speed rail project undertaken since the project was designed. It investigates these evaluations and summarises their methodologies and main results. Moreover, it analyses in detail the latest official Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA) carried out in 2019 in Italy and investigates the criticisms formulated on this evaluation. Our findings reveal that the tunnel project had been approved despite the lack of an evaluation that would reach the minimal requirements of being simultaneously documented, open to public scrutiny, computationally correct, based on parameters consistent with evidence, on a sufficiently detailed representation of supply and demand, and properly considering the risk of cost overruns. Regarding the 2019 CBA, the most salient criticisms focused on the Rule of Half and the inclusion of taxes. These criticisms appear, under review, ill-conceived, which suggests a possible misunderstanding of some fundamental outcomes of transport economics. From a methodological point of view, our results confirm that there is no inconsistency in the mainstream approach of CBA, in which taxation is included in the calculation and transferred user benefits are computed with the Rule of Half.

Despite the huge growth in online purchases, e-grocery (i.e. ordering grocery online) was still limited in scope in Italy so far. More recently, its growth has been substantial and 2020 witnessed a huge increase due to COVID-19-related mobility restrictions. In principle, e-grocery could reduce the number of shopping trips, yet an exponential increase in shipping and deliveries could have a negative impact on the environment. In order to explore the willingness to e-grocery, and delivery preferences (self-delivery, home delivered grocery or collected in a specific place) - and estimate their market shares - a stated preference survey was carried in Rome and Milan. Respondents were asked about their grocery shopping habits and to choose among different shopping and delivery options. Discrete choice modelling allows investigating preference heterogeneity and estimating willingness to pay measures. Main results indicate that respondents, characterised by distinct socio-economic, attitudinal, and geographical elements, react differently to attribute variations for alternative grocery shopping channels. Scenario simulations can help in defining successful business-strategies and possible solutions to external costs. Under this respect, results suggest that the best strategy to increase e-grocery shares in the two cities should be non-monetary, but rather aimed at expanding the product range available online.