| Italy | |
| Nationalrailway: | Ferrovie dello Stato |
| Majoroperators: | Trenitalia (national) Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (national) Trenord (local) Trenitalia Tper (local) Thello (international) Mercitalia (freight) |
| Ridership: | 883.3 million (2019)[1] |
| Length: | 16723km (10,391miles)[2] |
| Doublelength: | 7505km (4,663miles) |
| El1: | 3 kV DC |
| El1length: | conventional lines |
| El2: | 25 kV AC |
| El2length: | high-speed lines |
The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of Italy, with a total length[3] of 24227km (15,054miles) of which active lines are 16723km (10,391miles). The network has recently grown with the construction of the new high-speed rail network. Italy is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Italy is 83.
See also: Narrow-gauge railways in Italy. RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Italian Rail Network), a state owned infrastructure manager which administers most of the Italian rail infrastructure. The Italian railway system has a length of 19394km (12,051miles), of which 18071km (11,229miles) standard gauge. The active lines are 16723km (10,391miles), of which 7505km (4,663miles) are double tracks. Italy has 2,507 people and 12.46 km2 per kilometer of rail track, giving Italy the world's 13th-largest rail network.[4]
Lines are divided into 3 categories:
Most of the Italian network is electrified (11921km (7,407miles)). Electric system is 3 kV DC on conventional lines and 25 kV AC on high-speed lines.[5]
A major part of the Italian rail network is managed and operated by RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Italian Rail Network). Other regional agencies, mostly owned by public entities such as regional governments, operate on the Italian network.
Travellers who often make use of the railway during their stay in Italy might use Rail Passes, such as the European Inter-Rail 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 a 10-euro reservation fee. Regional passes, such as "Io viaggio ovunque Lombardia", offer one-day, multiple-day and monthly period 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 could 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.[6]
Companies certified to run railways in Italy are:
See main article: History of rail transport in Italy. The first line to be built on the peninsula was the Naples–Portici line, in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was 7.64km (04.75miles) long and was inaugurated on 3 October 1839, nine years after the world's first "modern" inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.[7] The following year the firm Holzhammer of Bolzano was granted the "Imperial-Royal privilege" to build the Milano–Monza line (12km (07miles)), the second railway built in Italy, in the then Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a part of the Austrian Empire.[8]
After the creation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, a project was started to build a network from the Alps to Sicily, in order to connect the country. After unification, construction of new lines was boosted: in 1875, with the completion of the section Orte-Orvieto, the direct Florence–Rome line was completed, reducing the travel time of the former route passing through Foligno-Terontola.[9] Private companies were definitively bought back by the Italian state on 1 July 1905, with the creation of the Ferrovie dello Stato (State Railways), or FFSS, with a total of 10557km (6,560miles) of lines, of which it already owned 9686km (6,019miles). The move was completed the following year with the acquisition of the remaining SFM network: by then FFSS possessed 13075km (8,124miles) of lines, of which with double tracks.[10]
The period from 1922 to 1939 was heavy with important construction and modernisation programmes for the Italian railways, which also incorporated 400km (200miles) from the Ferrovie Reali Sarde of Sardinia. The most important programme was that of the Rome–Naples and Bologna–Florence direttissimas ("most direct lines"): the first reduced the travel time from the two cities by an hour and a half; the second, announced proudly as "constructing Fascism", included the second longest tunnel in the world at the time.[11] 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 Italian ETR 200, which in July 1939 went from Milan to Florence at 165km/h, with a top speed of 203km/h.[12] With this service, the railway was able to compete with the upcoming airplanes. The Second World War stopped these services.
After World War II, Italy started to repair the damaged railways, and built nearly 20000km (10,000miles) of new tracks. Entire lines were out of action and much of the rolling stock destroyed. Thanks to the Marshall Plan, in the following years they could be rebuilt, although the possibility of reorganizing the network was missed due to short-sighted policies.[13] The main Battipaglia-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 of Trans Europe Express services. Nowadays the rail tracks and infrastructure are managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI),[14] while the train and the passenger section is managed mostly by Trenitalia. Both are Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) subsidiaries, once the only train operator in Italy.
See main article: High-speed rail in Italy. High-speed trains were developed during the 1960s. E444 locomotives were the first standard locomotives capable of top speed of 200km/h, while an ALe 601 electrical multiple unit (EMU) reached a speed of 240km/h during a test. Other EMUs, such as the ETR 220, ETR 250 and ETR 300, were also updated for speeds up to 200km/h. The braking systems of cars were updated to match the increased travelling speeds.
On 25 June 1970, work was started on the Rome–Florence Direttissima, the first high-speed line in Italy and in Europe. It included the 5375adj=midNaNadj=mid bridge on the Paglia 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, 160 E.656 electric and 35 D.345 locomotives for short-medium range traffic were acquired, together with 80 EMUs of the ALe 801/940 class, 120 ALn 668 diesel railcars. Some 1,000 much-needed passenger and 7,000 freight cars were also ordered.
In the 1990s, work started on the Treno Alta Velocità (TAV) project, which involved building a new high-speed network on the routes Milan – (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 with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia are underway.
Most of the Rome–Naples line opened in December 2005, the Turin–Milan line partially opened in February 2006 and the Milan–Bologna line opened in December 2008. The remaining sections of the Rome–Naples and the Turin–Milan lines and the Bologna–Florence line were completed in December 2009. All these lines are designed for speeds up to 300km/h. Since then, it is possible to travel from Turin to Salerno (ca. 950km (590miles)) in less than 5 hours. More than 100 trains per day are operated.[15]
Other proposed high-speed lines are Salerno-Reggio Calabria[16] (connected to Sicily with the future bridge over the Strait of Messina[17]), Palermo-Catania[18] and Naples–Bari.[19]
The main public operator of high-speed trains (alta velocità AV, formerly Eurostar Italia) is Trenitalia, part of FSI. Trains are divided into three categories (called "Le Frecce"): Frecciarossa ("Red arrow") trains operate at a maximum of 300km/h on dedicated high-speed tracks; Frecciargento (Silver arrow) trains operate at a maximum of 250km/h on both high-speed and mainline tracks; Frecciabianca (White arrow) trains operate at a maximum of 200km/h on mainline tracks only.
Since 2012, a new and Italy's first private train operator, NTV (branded as Italo), run high-speed services in competition with Trenitalia. Even nowadays, Italy is the only country in Europe with a private high-speed train operator.
Construction of the Milan-Venice high-speed line has begun in 2013 and in December 2016 the Milan-Treviglio-Brescia section has been opened to passenger traffic;[20] 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 the Frecciarossa 1000, the new high-speed train. As of June 2024, there are 46 Trenitalia [21] and 33 Italo [22] round-trip high speed trains every weekday that cover this route,
See main article: article and Nightjet.
The Nightjet of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) serves different big 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 offers beds in sleeper 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.
See main article: Inter-city rail and InterCity. With the introduction of high-speed trains, intercity trains are limited to 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 are Trieste to Rome (stopping at Venice, Bologna, Prato, Florence and Arezzo), Milan to Rome (stopping at Genoa, La Spezia, Pisa and Livorno / stopping at Parma, Modena, Bologna, Prato, Florence and Arezzo), Bologna to Lecce (stopping at Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Bari and Brindisi) and Rome to Reggio di Calabria (stopping at Latina and Naples). 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. Main routes are Rome to Bolzano/Bozen (calling at Florence, Bologna, Verona, Rovereto and Trento), Milan to Lecce (calling at Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Faenza, Forlì, Cesena, Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Bari and Brindisi), Turin to Lecce (calling at Alessandria, 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 day-time portion provide extra train connections to complement with the Intercity services.
There are a total of 86 intercity trains running within Italy per day.
Trenitalia operates regional services (both fast veloce RV and stopping REG) 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's a great deal of other little operators, such as AMT Genova for the Genova-Casella railway.
See main article: article and Railway stations in Italy. 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[23] | 32 | Rome | Lazio |
| 2 | Milano Centrale | 145[24] | 24 | Milan | Lombardy |
| 3 | Torino Porta Nuova | 70[25] | 20 | Turin | Piedmont |
| 4 | Firenze Santa Maria Novella | 59[26] | 19 | Florence | Tuscany |
| 5 | Bologna Centrale | 58[27] | 28 | Bologna | Emilia-Romagna |
| 6 | Roma Tiburtina | 51[28] | 20 | Rome | Lazio |
| 7 | Napoli Centrale | 50[29] | 25 | Naples | Campania |
| 8 | Milano Cadorna | 33.1[30] | 10 | Milan | Lombardy |
| 9 | Venezia Mestre | 31[31] | 13 | Venice | Veneto |
| 10 | Venezia Santa Lucia | 30 | 16 | Venice | Veneto |
7 cities have metro systems:
| City | Name | Lines | Length (km) | Stations | Opening | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13.7 | 17 | 2013 | |||
| 1 | 8.8 | 10 | 1999 | |||
| 1 | 7.1 | 8 | 1990 | |||
| 5 | 102.5 | 119 | 1964 | |||
| 2 | 20.3 | 23 | 1993 | |||
| 3 | 60 | 75 | 1955 | |||
| 1 | 15.1 | 23 | 2006 |
15 cities have commuter rail systems; cities without wikilink are those listed just above for their metro rail system.
See also: Leonardo Express and Malpensa Express.
Airport shuttle buses are highly developed and convenient for rail travellers. Most airports in Italy are not connected to the railway network, except for Rome Fiumicino Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport and Turin Caselle Airport. In Bologna, there is the monorail Marconi Express, connecting Bologna Airport to the main railway station. Linate Airport in Milan has been connected to line 4 of the Milan metro since 2022.
Italy has 11 rail border crossings over the Alpine mountains with her neighbouring countries: six are designated as mainline tracks and two are metre-gauge tracks. The six mainline border crossings are: two with France (one for Nice and Marseille; the other for Lyon and Dijon), two with Switzerland (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 of Tirano (enters Switzerland's Canton Graubünden/Grisons) and Domodossola (enters Switzerland's Locarno).
There is a railway line connecting Italy's northeastern port of Trieste to Slovenia, but no passenger or freight services operate on this track. Consequently, there is no direct connections between Trieste and Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, despite the proximity of both cities.
The Vatican City is also linked to Italy with a railway line serving a single railway station, the Vatican City railway station. This line is used only for special occasions.[32] San Marino used to have a narrow gauge rail connection with Italy; this was dismantled in 1944.[33]
All links have the same gauge.
Stations on the border are:
See also: List of heritage railways in Italy.
In Italy the heritage 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 proposal of the regions to which they belong, tourism-type traffic management is applied (art. 2, paragraph 1).[34] At the same time, the law identified a first list of 18 tourist railways, considered to be of particular value (art. 2, paragraph 2).[34]
The list is periodically updated by decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, in agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Culture, also taking into account the reports in the State-Regions Conference, a list which in 2022 reached 26 railway lines.[35] 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".[34]
Below is the list of railway lines recognized as tourist railways by Italian legislation.a) pursuant to art. 2 paragraph 2 law 128/2017:[34]
b) pursuant to the Ministerial Decree of 30 March 2022:[35]
The Bernina railway line is a single-track railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the town of Tirano, in the Province of Sondrio, Italy, via the Bernina Pass. Reaching a height of above sea level, it is the third highest railway crossing in Europe. It also ranks as the highest adhesion railway of the continent, andwith inclines 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 1824abbr=onNaNabbr=on, allowing passengers to view glaciers along the line. On 7 July 2008, the Bernina line and the Albula railway line, which also forms part of the RhB, were recorded in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, under the name Rhaetian 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 the Bernina 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".[42] There are three service areas proposed:
The Italian railways are partially funded by the government, receiving €8.1 billion in 2009.[43]
These are the major service categories and models of Italian trains.