This station is a continual work in progress. I've lived in the area for 12 years and I've never seen it fully operational. I think there were some refurbishment works about five years ago, adding a couple of useful drug-stores to the main hall, but the escalators are nearly always out of order, and the lifts are disgraceful.
The only saving grace is the architecture. Whether the mark that Fascism left on Rome is to your taste or not, this is a station which captures a moment in time, and the 1930s friezes and mosaics, commissioned by Mussolini, are a little history lesson in themselves. Word has it that this station was built for the arrival of Hitler's troops in Rome so it has quite a back-story.
These days, many of the mosaics have been cemented over and weeds grow across the car-park. If you arrive late at night, you don't feel safe at all; the car park is vast and not well lit. If you arrive in the day, it's almost impossible to walk down the pavement towards Porta San Paolo because the side-walks are full of impromptu "flea markets", i.e. individuals selling random lost / possibly stolen goods from blankets.
It's a really useful station, but needs a massive overhaul and a much better maintenance strategy. read more