Aulla Lunigiana – Lucca railway line
| Aulla-Lunigiana-Lucca | |
|---|---|
 Route map
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| Route number (RFI) : | 95 |
| Course book series (IT) : | 252 |
| Route length: | 98 km |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
The Aulla-Lunigiana-Lucca railway is a 98 km long, standard-gauge, single-track and non-electrified branch line in the Italian railway network.
description
It mainly opens up the villages in the so-called Garfagnana , a valley landscape, traversed by the Serchio River , between the main ridge of the Apennines and the Apuan Alps . The towns of Aulla , Equi Terme , Piazza al Serchio , Castelnuovo di Garfagnana , Fornaci di Barga and Lucca are connected .
The railway line, also known as the "Garfagnana Railway", is a route that required many engineering structures due to the route through the mountains. Outstanding is the 408 m long and 54 m high slightly curved viaduct from Viletta near San Romano in Garfagnana in the central Serchio valley. The 7,515 m long tunnel under Monte Lupacino (Galleria Lupacino) or the 3177 m Ugliancaldo tunnel are also noteworthy for a branch line.
history
The construction time was also remarkable, as 70 years passed between the first groundbreaking and the opening on March 21, 1959. But the project was even older. As early as 1840, British investors submitted a license application for a railway from Lucca through the Garfagnana and the Apennines to Modena . In the period that followed, projects were discussed again and again, because the agrarian Garfagnana hoped for better development for the industries (spinning mills, woodworking, paper and metal factories) that were now settled to a limited extent. But only military considerations led to more intensive planning. It took the railway company 40 years to build the 40 km long section from Lucca to Castelnuovo , which opened in 1911. But when in 1905 budget discussions in the Italian parliament did not decide to continue building to Aulla , there were protests with work stoppages in Garfagnana. The protests had an effect, because the funds were released for further construction by royal decree.
However, the construction time dragged on. The Piazza al Serchio, 12 km away from Castelnuovo, was only reached in 1940. Coming from Aulla, the route to Equi Terme was opened in 1914. On April 19, 1944, German troops blew up the Viletta Viaduct. The repair of the damage, the post-war period and the construction of the 7.5 km long tunnel under Monte Lupacino meant that the route was not passable until 1959. This led to the statement of the then Italian Transport Minister Armando Angelini at the opening: “What can we say about this railway? She came way too late! Construction began at a time when rail was the only efficient means of transport and meant progress. But the construction will be finished at a time when goods and people have long been transported by other means. "
This attitude is evidently still being pursued, because the scenic route is still served by passenger traffic, but some old, uncomfortable diesel railcars are in operation and there are no ticket machines installed at many stations. The partial re-routing of the route south of Aulla in 2008 including two new tunnels with a length of 600 and 668 m, the renovation of some bridges in recent years and the construction of a container terminal in Pieve San Lorenzo in July 2012 mean that the However, the route seems secure.
Web links
- Private website about the railway line (Italian)