The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of Italy, with a total length of of which active lines are 16,723 km. 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. The UIC Country Code for Italy is 83.
The network
RFI, a state owned infrastructure manager which administers most of the Italian rail infrastructure. The total length of RFI active lines is, of which are double tracks. Lines are divided into 3 categories:
fundamental lines, which have high traffic and good infrastructure quality, comprise all the main lines between major cities throughout the country. Fundamental lines are long;
complementary lines, which have less traffic and are responsible for connecting medium or small regional centers. Most of these lines are single track and some are not electrified;
node lines, which link complementary and fundamental lines near metropolitan areas for a total.
The first railway in Italy was the Napoli-Porticiline, built in 1839 to connect the royal palace of Naples to the seaside. 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. The first high-speed train was the Italian ETR 200, which in July 1939 went from Milan to Florence at, with a top speed of. With this service, the railway was able to compete with the upcoming airplanes. The Second World War stopped these services. After the Second World War, Italy started to repair the damaged railways, and built nearly of new tracks. Nowadays the rail tracks and infrastructure are managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, while the train and the passenger section is managed mostly by Trenitalia. Both are Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries, once the only train operator in Italy.
High-speed rail
High-speed trains were developed during the 1960s. E444 locomotives were the first standard locomotives capable of top speed of, while an ALe 601electrical multiple unit reached a speed of during a test. Other EMUs, such as the ETR 220, ETR 250 and ETR 300, were also updated for speeds up to. 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. It included the 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 project, which involved building a new high-speed network on the routes Milan – – Salerno, Turin – – 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. Other proposed high-speed lines are Salerno-Reggio Calabria, then connected to Sicily using the future Strait of Messina Bridge, and Naples-Bari.
Rail links to adjacent countries
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
Vatican City — from Rome San Pietro Railway Station, the trains to Vatican City must be carried with a diesel locomotive
Brenner is the border station of the Verona-Innsbruck main line.
San Candido is the border station of the Fortezza-Lienz secondary line.
Tarvisio Boscoverde is the border station of the Venezia-Wien main line.
Gorizia Centrale station serves as link to the Slovenian Railways, through the station of Nova Gorica, which can be entered also directly by pedestrians from the Italian side.
Villa Opicina station serves as link to the Slovenian Railways, through the stations of Sežana and Repentabor.
Subsidies
The Italian railways are partially funded by the government, receiving €8.1 billion of rail subsidies in 2009.
Categories and types of trains
These are the major service categories and models of Italian trains.
