Did Mussolini make the trains run on time?

“Say what you like about Mussolini but he did make the trains run on time.” This phrase is the political equivalent of “every cloud has a silver lining” – but does it have any factual basis?

Mussolini’s dictatorship in Italy was full of atrocities, brutal suppression and propaganda. Did it also create a more efficient railway network?

We speak to Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat about the truth of the claim and why the Mussolini regime wanted us to believe it.

Presenter: Lizzy McNeill
Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Researcher: Esme Winterbotham
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Master: James Beard
Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison.

Image: Benito Mussolini in his train studying maps. (Photo by ullstein picture/ullstein picture via Getty Images)