In this paper, after briefly outlining the main features of TRAT2, its application to the land transport of dangerous goods through the downtown of Messina is outlined. Owing to its particular location, there is a large flow of hazardous materials through the city of Messina. Many of these substances come from the greatest industrialised areas of Sicily. Goods reach the town by rail or road, and cross the Straits by ship. A complete inventory of dangerous substances, detailed in the paper, was the basis of a complete risk analysis, whose results, obtained by means of the TRAT2 software, have been analysed and discussed. From both individual risk distribution and societal risk curves the importance of parameters has been obtained and this has suggested measures to improve the safety of the urban area. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.