| Italy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Operation | |
| National railway | Ferrovie dello Stato |
| Major operators | Trenitalia(national) Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori(national) Trenord(local) Trenitalia Tper(local) Ferrovie del Sud Est(local) Thello(international) Mercitalia(freight) |
| Statistics | |
| Ridership | 883.3 million(2019)[1] |
| System length | |
| Total | 16,832 km (10,459 mi)[2] |
| Double track | 7,734 km (4,806 mi)[2] |
| Track gauge | |
| Main | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
| Electrification | |
| 3 kV DC | conventional lines[2] |
| 25 kV AC | high-speed lines[2] |
TheItalian railway system is one of the most important parts of theinfrastructure of Italy, with a total length[3] of 24,567 km (15,265 mi) of which active lines are 16,832 km (10,459 mi).[2] The network has recently grown with the construction of the newhigh-speed rail network. Italy is a member of theInternational Union of Railways (UIC). TheUIC Country Code for Italy is 83. In 2024, the Italian national rail serviceTrenitalia was recognized as the best rail passenger operator in Europe.[4]
RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Italian Rail Network), a state ownedinfrastructure manager which administers most of the Italian rail infrastructure. The Italian railway system has a length of 19,394 km (12,051 mi), of which 18,071 km (11,229 mi)standard gauge. The active lines are 16,723 km (10,391 mi),[2] of which 7,505 km (4,663 mi) are double tracks.[2] Italy has 2,507 people and 12.46 km2 per kilometre of rail track, giving Italy the world's 13th-largest rail network.[5]
Lines are divided into 3 categories:
Most of the Italian network is electrified (11,921 km (7,407 mi)). The electric system is 3 kVDC on conventional lines and25 kV AC on high-speed lines.[6]
A major part of the Italian rail network is managed and operated byRFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Italian Rail Network). Other regional agencies, mostly owned by public entities such asregional governments, operate on the Italian network.
Travellers who often make use of the railway during their stay in Italy might userail passes, such as the EuropeanInterrail /Eurail passes or Italy's national and regional passes. These rail passes allow travellers the freedom to use regional trains during the validity period, but all high-speed and intercity trains require up to a 15-euro reservation fee.[7] Regional passes, such as "Io viaggio ovunque Lombardia", offer one-day, multiple-day and monthly periods of validity. There are also saver passes for adults, who travel as a group, with savings up to 20%. Foreign travellers should purchase these passes in advance so that the passes can be delivered by post prior to the trip. When using the rail passes, the date of travel needs to be filled in before boarding the trains.[8]
Companies certified to run railways in Italy are:
The first line to be built on the peninsula was theNaples–Portici line, in theKingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was 7.64 km (4.75 mi) long and was inaugurated on 3 October 1839, nine years after the world's first "modern" inter-city railway, theLiverpool and Manchester Railway.[10] The following year the firm Holzhammer ofBolzano was granted the "Imperial-Royal privilege" to build theMilano–Monza line (12 km (7.5 mi)), the second railway built in Italy, in the thenKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a part of theAustrian Empire.[11]
After the creation of theKingdom of Italy in 1861, a project was started to build a network from theAlps toSicily, in order to connect the country. After unification, construction of new lines was boosted: in 1875, with the completion of the sectionOrte-Orvieto, the directFlorence–Rome line was completed, reducing the travel time of the former route passing throughFoligno-Terontola.[12] Private companies were definitively bought back by the Italian state on 1 July 1905, with the creation of theFerrovie dello Stato (State Railways), or FFSS, with a total of 10,557 km (6,560 mi) of lines, of which it already owned 9,686 km (6,019 mi). The move was completed the following year with the acquisition of the remaining SFM network: by then FFSS possessed 13,075 km (8,124 mi) of lines, of which 1,917 km (1,191 mi) with double tracks.[13]
The period from 1922 to 1939 was heavy with important construction and modernisation programmes for the Italian railways, which also incorporated 400 km (250 mi) from theFerrovie Reali Sarde ofSardinia. The most important programme was that of theRome–Naples andBologna–Florencedirettissimas ("very direct lines"): the first reduced the travel time from the two cities by an hour and a half; the second, announced proudly as "constructingFascism", included the second longest tunnel in the world at the time, under the Apennines.[14] Electrification on 3,000 V direct current was introduced, which later supplanted the existing three-phase system. Other improvements included automatic blocks, light signals, construction of numerous main stations (Milan Central, Napoli Mergellina, Roma Ostiense and others) and other technical modernisations. The first high-speed train was the ItalianETR 200, which in July 1939 went fromMilan toFlorence at 165 km/h (105 mph), with a top speed of 203 km/h (126 mph).[15] With this service, the railway was able to compete with the upcoming aeroplanes. TheSecond World War stopped these services.
After World War II, Italy started to repair the damaged railways and built nearly 20,000 km (12,000 mi) of new tracks. Entire lines were out of action and much of the rolling stock was destroyed. Thanks to theMarshall Plan, in the following years they could be rebuilt, although the possibility of reorganizing the network was missed due to short-sighted policies.[16] The mainBattipaglia-Reggio Calabria line (running along the west coast) was doubled, while a program of updating of infrastructures, superstructures, services, colour-light signalling and cars was updated or extended. The three-phase lines were gradually turned into standard 3,000 V dc lines.
Increasing numbers of steam locomotives were replaced by electric or diesel ones; in the 1960s also the first unified passenger cars appeared and the first attempts of interoperability with foreign companies were started, culminating in the creation ofTrans Europe Express services. Nowadays therail tracks and infrastructure are managed byRete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI),[17] while the train and the passenger section is managed mostly byTrenitalia. Both areFerrovie dello Stato (FS) subsidiaries, once the only train operator in Italy.
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The Italian high-speed service began in 1938 with an electric-multiple-unitETR 200, designed for 200 km/h (120 mph), between Bologna and Naples. It too reached 160 km/h (99 mph) in commercial service, and achieved a world mean speed record of 203 km/h (126 mph) between Florence and Milan in 1938.
High-speed trains were developed during the 1960s.E444 locomotives were the first standard locomotives capable of top speed of 200 km/h (125 mph), while anALe 601electrical multiple unit (EMU) reached a speed of 240 km/h (150 mph) during a test. Other EMUs, such as theETR 220,ETR 250 andETR 300, were also updated for speeds up to 200 km/h (125 mph). The braking systems of cars were updated to match the increased travelling speeds.
On 25 June 1970, work was started on theRome–FlorenceDirettissima, the first high-speed line in Italy and inEurope. It included the 5,375-metre-long (3.340 mi) bridge on thePaglia river, then the longest in Europe. Works were completed in the early 1990s.
In 1975, a program for a widespread updating of the rolling stock was launched. However, as it was decided to put more emphasis on local traffic, this caused a shifting of resources from the ongoing high-speed projects, with their subsequent slowing or, in some cases, total abandonment. Therefore, 160E.656 electric and 35D.345 locomotives for short-medium range traffic were acquired, together with 80 EMUs of theALe 801/940 class, 120ALn 668 diesel railcars. Some 1,000 much-needed passenger and 7,000 freight cars were also ordered.
In the 1990s, work started on theTreno Alta Velocità (TAV) project, which involved building a new high-speed network on the routesMilan – (Bologna–Florence–Rome–Naples) –Salerno,Turin – (Milan–Verona–Venice) –Trieste and Milan–Genoa. Most of the planned lines have already been opened, while international links withFrance,Switzerland,Austria andSlovenia are underway.
Most of theRome–Naples line opened in December 2005, theTurin–Milan line partially opened in February 2006 and theMilan–Bologna line opened in December 2008. The remaining sections of the Rome–Naples and the Turin–Milan lines and theBologna–Florence line were completed in December 2009. All these lines are designed for speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph). Since then, it is possible to travel from Turin to Salerno (ca. 950 km (590 mi)) in less than 5 hours. More than 100 trains per day are operated.[22]
Other proposed high-speed lines areSalerno-Reggio Calabria[23] (connected to Sicily with the futurebridge over the Strait of Messina[24]),Palermo-Catania[25] andNaples–Bari.[26]
The main public operator of high-speed trains (alta velocità AV, formerlyEurostar Italia) isTrenitalia, part ofFSI. Trains are divided into three categories (called "Le Frecce"):Frecciarossa ("Red arrow") trains operate at a maximum of 300 km/h (185 mph) on dedicated high-speed tracks;Frecciargento (Silver arrow) trains operate at a maximum of 250 km/h (155 mph) on both high-speed and mainline tracks;Frecciabianca (White arrow) trains operate at a maximum of 200 km/h (125 mph) on mainline tracks only.[27]
Since 2012, a new and Italy's first private train operator,NTV (branded as Italo), run high-speed services in competition withTrenitalia. Even nowadays, Italy is the only country in Europe with a private high-speed train operator.
Construction of theMilan-Venice high-speed line began in 2013 and in December 2016 the Milan-Treviglio-Brescia section has been opened to passenger traffic;[28] the Milan-Genoa high-speed line (Terzo Valico dei Giovi) is also under construction.
Today it is possible to travel from Rome to Milan in less than 3 hours (2h 55' without intermediate stops) with theFrecciarossa 1000, the new high-speed train. As of June 2024, there are 46 Trenitalia[29] and 33 Italo[30] round-trip high-speed trains every weekday that cover this route,
TheNightjet of theAustrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) serves different major cities in Italy like Rome, Venice, Florence and Milano. The trains can be used for rides inside Italy as well as for journeys abroad.
Nightjet trains offer beds insleeper carriages (Nightjet's most comfortable service category),couchette carriages, and seated carriages. On certain connections, cars can also be transported on the train. Bikes can be transported in a bike transport bag, or on some connections also in special bike racks.
Trenitalia operates many night trains within Italy, under the brand Intercity Notte.[31] Routes include connections between the Northern Italian cities of Turin, Milan, and Trieste, to Rome and further to Southern Italian cities such as Lecce or Palermo and Syracuse in Sicily. The trains offer standard seats as well as modern couchettes and sleeping compartments.
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With the introduction of high-speed trains, intercity trains are limited to a few services per day on mainline and regional tracks.
The daytime services (InterCity IC), while not frequent and limited to one or two trains per route, are essential in providing access to cities and towns off the railway's mainline network. The main routes areTrieste toRome (stopping atVenice,Bologna,Prato,Florence andArezzo),Milan to Rome (stopping atGenoa,La Spezia,Pisa andLivorno / stopping atParma,Modena, Bologna, Prato, Florence and Arezzo), Bologna toLecce (stopping atRimini,Ancona,Pescara,Bari andBrindisi) and Rome toReggio di Calabria (stopping atLatina andNaples). In addition, the Intercity trains provide a more economical means of long-distance rail travel within Italy.
The night trains (Intercity Notte ICN) have sleeper compartments and washrooms, but no showers on board. The main routes are Rome toBolzano/Bozen (calling at Florence, Bologna,Verona,Rovereto andTrento), Milan toLecce (calling at Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Faenza, Forlì, Cesena, Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Bari and Brindisi),Turin to Lecce (calling atAlessandria,Voghera,Piacenza, Parma, Bologna, Rimini, Pescara, Termoli, San Severo, Foggia, Barletta, Bisceglie, Molfetta, Bari, Monopoli, Fasano, Ostuni and Brindisi) and Reggio di Calabria to Turin (calling at Naples, Rome,Livorno, La Spezia and Genova). Most portions of these ICN services run during the night; since most services take 10 to 15 hours to complete a one-way journey, their daytime portion provides extra train connections to complement the Intercity services.
Trenitalia operates regional services (both fastveloce RV and stoppingREG) throughout Italy.
Regional train agencies exist: their train schedules are largely connected to and shown on Trenitalia, and tickets for such train services can be purchased through Trenitalia's national network. Other regional agencies have separate ticket systems which are not mutually exchangeable with that of Trenitalia. These "regional" tickets could be purchased at local newsagents or tobacco stores instead.
In addition to these agencies, there is a great deal of other little operators, such asAMT Genova for the Genova-Casella railway.
Italy's top ten railway stations by annual passengers are:
| Rank | Railway Station | Annual entries/exits (millions) | Number of platforms | City | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roma Termini | 150[32] | 32 | Rome | Lazio |
| 2 | Milano Centrale | 145[33] | 24 | Milan | Lombardy |
| 3 | Torino Porta Nuova | 70[34] | 20 | Turin | Piedmont |
| 4 | Firenze Santa Maria Novella | 59[35] | 19 | Florence | Tuscany |
| 5 | Bologna Centrale | 58[36] | 28 | Bologna | Emilia-Romagna |
| 6 | Roma Tiburtina | 51[37] | 20 | Rome | Lazio |
| 7 | Napoli Centrale | 50[38] | 25 | Naples | Campania |
| 8 | Milano Cadorna | 33.1[39] | 10 | Milan | Lombardy |
| 9 | Venezia Mestre | 31[40] | 13 | Venice | Veneto |
| 10 | Venezia Santa Lucia | 30[40] | 16 | Venice | Veneto |
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Milan Metro is the largestrapid transit system in Italy in terms of length, number of stations and ridership; and the fifth longest in theEuropean Union and the eighth in theEurope.[41] Seven cities havemetro systems:
| City | Name | Lines | Length (km) | Stations | Opening |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brescia | Brescia Metro | 1 | 13.7 | 17 | 2013 |
| Catania | Catania Metro | 1 | 8.8 | 10 | 1999 |
| Genoa | Genoa Metro | 1 | 7.1 | 8 | 1990 |
| Milan | Milan Metro | 5 | 102.5 | 119 | 1964 |
| Naples | Naples Metro | 3 | 36.4 | 31 | 1993 |
| Rome | Rome Metro | 3 | 60 | 75 | 1955 |
| Turin | Turin Metro | 1 | 15.1 | 23 | 2006 |
15 cities havecommuter rail systems; cities without wikilink are those listed just above for their metro rail system.
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Airport shuttle buses are highly developed and convenient for rail travellers. Most airports in Italy are not connected to the railway network, except forRome Fiumicino Airport,Milan Malpensa Airport andTurin Caselle Airport. InBologna, there is the monorailMarconi Express, connectingBologna Airport to the mainrailway station.Linate Airport in Milan has been connected toline 4 of the Milan metro since 2022.
11 cities havetram system:
2 cities havetram-train system,Rome andSassari. TheRome–Giardinetti railway connectsLaziali (a regional train station some 800 metres (2,625 ft) fromTermini's main concourse) with Giardinetti to the east just past theGrande Raccordo Anulare, Rome's orbital motorway.[43] It is run byATAC, the company responsible for public transportation in the city, which also operates theRome Metro.[44] The present railway is the only part of the old and longerRome–Fiuggi–Alatri–Frosinone railway to be in service. The latest shortening of the line occurred in 2008 with the closing of the Giardinetti–Pantano section, which has now become part of theMetro Line C.[45] The line had been due to be dismantled in 2016 to be replaced with a bus lane along Via Casilina,[46] but in March 2015 it was announced that the line would instead be retained and modernised.[47]
Metrosassari,[48][49] also calledSassari tramway,Sassari tram-train orSassari metro-tramway (Italian:Metrotranvia di Sassari or Italian:Metropolitana leggera di Sassari) is the commercial name of atram-train[50][51][52] line inSassari,Sardinia, Italy, operated by the regional public transport companyARST (Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti). Despite having been built in the early 2000s, in the urban section the line was built with single track andnarrow gauge, to connect with the same950 mm (3 ft 1+3⁄8 in) gauge used in the secondary railway lines in Sardinia. The 2.45 km (1.52 mi) tramway part of the line (Stazione -Emiciclo Garibaldi) opened in October 2006, linking the railway station with the city centre via the hospital district.[53] On 27 September 2009 the line was extended into the peripheral district of Santa Maria di Pisa, running on the electrified portion[54] of theSassari–Sorso railway.[55] The main part of the network was in 2013 in the advanced development phase. It is under construction is the extension of the line from Santa Maria di Pisa to Li Punti and Baldinca, and the electrification of the railway toSorso, 10 km from Sassari. It is also planned to convert and electrify the 28 km Sassari-Alghero railway to allow the trams to reach the village ofOlmedo,Fertilia Airport and the town ofAlghero.
Italy has 11 rail border crossings over theAlpine mountains with her neighbouring countries: six are designated as mainline tracks and two are metre-gauge tracks. The six mainline border crossings are: two withFrance (one for Nice and Marseille; the other for Lyon and Dijon), two withSwitzerland (one for Brig, Bern and Geneva; the other for Chiasso, Lugano, Lucerne and Zürich), and two with Austria (one for Innsbruck; the other for Villach, Graz and Vienna). The two-metre-gauge track crossings are located at the border town ofTirano (enters Switzerland's CantonGraubünden/Grisons) and Domodossola (enters Switzerland's canton ofTicino).
There was a railway line connecting Italy's northeastern port ofTrieste toLjubljana(Slovenia) andVienna, built when Trieste was part of theAustro-Hungarian Empire:theAustrian Southern Railway. This railway stopped operating at the end ofWorld War II.Direct connections between Trieste and Ljubljana have resumed since September 2018.[56]
TheVatican City is also linked to Italy with a railway line serving a single railway station, theVatican City railway station. This line is used only for special occasions.[58]San Marino used to have a narrow gauge rail connection with Italy; this was dismantled in 1944.[59]
All links have the same gauge.
Austria — voltage change 3 kV DC/15 kV AC
France — voltage change 3 kV DC/25 kV AC or 1.5 kV DC
Slovenia — same voltage
Switzerland — voltage change 3 kV DC/15 kV AC (plus two narrow gauge lines, same voltage)
Vatican City — no electrification
San Marino — closed, narrow gauge
Stations on the border are:
In Italy, theheritage railways institute is recognized and protected by law no. 128 of 9 August 2017, which has as its objective the protection and valorisation of disused, suspended or abolished railway lines, of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, including both railway routes and stations and the related works of art and appurtenances, on which, upon the proposal of the regions to which they belong, tourism-type traffic management is applied (art. 2, paragraph 1).[60] At the same time, the law identified a first list of 18 tourist railways, considered to be of particular value (art. 2, paragraph 2).[60]
The list is periodically updated by decree of theMinistry of Infrastructure and Transport, in agreement with theMinistry of Economy and Finance and theMinistry of Culture, also taking into account the reports in the State-Regions Conference, a list which in 2022 reached 26 railway lines.[61] According to article 1, law 128/2017 has as its purpose: "the protection and valorisation of railway sections of particular cultural, landscape and tourist value, which include railway routes, stations and related works of art and appurtenances, and of the historic and tourist rolling stock authorized to travel along them, as well as the regulation of the use of ferrocycles".[60]
Below is the list of railway lines recognized as tourist railways by Italian legislation.
b) pursuant to the Ministerial Decree of 30 March 2022:[61]
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TheBernina railway line is asingle-track1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)metre gauge railway line forming part of theRhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort ofSt. Moritz, in thecanton ofGraubünden,Switzerland, with the town ofTirano, in theProvince of Sondrio,Italy, via theBernina Pass. Reaching a height of 2,253 metres (7,392 ft) above sea level, it is thethird highest railway crossing in Europe. It also ranks as the highestadhesion railway of the continent, and – withinclines of up to 7% – as one of the steepest adhesion railways in the world. The elevation difference on the section between the Bernina Pass and Tirano is 1,824 m (5,984 ft), allowing passengers to view glaciers along the line. On 7 July 2008, the Bernina line and theAlbula railway line, which also forms part of the RhB, were recorded in the list ofUNESCO World Heritage Sites, under the nameRhaetian Railway in the Albula /Bernina Landscapes. The whole site is a cross-border joint Swiss-Italian heritage area. Trains operating on the Bernina line include theBernina Express.
In July 2023,Ferrovie dello Stato established a new company, the "FS Treni Turistici Italiani" (English: FS Italian Tourist Trains), with the mission "to propose an offer of railway services expressly designed and calibrated for quality, sustainable tourism and attentive to rediscovering the riches of the Italian territory. Tourism that can experience the train journey as an integral moment of the holiday, an element of quality in the overall tourist experience".[68] There are three service areas proposed:
The Italian railways are partially funded by the government, receiving €8.1 billion in 2009.[69]
These are the major service categories and models of Italian trains.
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