Sassari – Palau railway line

Sassari-Palau
Sant'Antonio di Gallura train station
Route length:	150.2 km
Gauge :	950 mm ( Italian meter gauge )
Legend Railway line from Alghero 0.0 Sassari transition to FS 176  m slm Railway line to Sorso ARST depot Baddimanna 6.4 Filigheddu 349  m slm 10.8 Achettas 332  m slm 17.8 Osilo 447  m slm 26.7 Fenosu 539  m slm SS 127 34.7 Nulvi 460  m slm 45.1 Martis 258  m slm SS 127 54.2 Laerru 116  m slm 59.0 Perfugas 45  m slm 63.5 Coghinas 42  m slm Coghinas 67.6 Scala Ruia 57  m slm Driveway loop terminal loop , passing under higher lying exit 80.0 80.8 Bortigiadas 310  m slm Exit at the roundabout loop, cross the lower driveway 87.3 Aggius 490  m slm formerly from the old Tempio Pausania train station 91.2 0.0 Tempio Pausania 546  m slm Nuchis 11.0 Lurás 459  m slm former route to Monti 12.0 Calangianus 463  m slm 19.9 San Leonardo 262  m slm 23.9 Rio Patto 200  m slm 26.9 Lake Liscia 195  m slm Lake Liscia 28.8 Sant'Antonio di Gallura 236  m slm 37.0 Oddastru 120  m slm Capichera 103  m slm 40.6 Caldosa 83  m slm 45.3 Arzachena 85  m slm 52.5 Surrau 45  m slm 57.8 Palau 19  m slm ( Hairpin ) 59.0 Palau Marina 7  m slm Quay wall

The Sassari – Palau railway is a narrow-gauge branch line in Sardinia . The railway line opened in 1931/32 is only used by the " Trenino verde ".

history

The Società anonima Ferrovie Settentrionali Sarde (SFSS) was able to open the Sassari to Palau railway line in two sections . The 91 kilometers from Tempio Pausania to Sassari were opened on November 16, 1931 and the 46 kilometers from Luras to Palau on January 18, 1932. Between Luras and Tempio, the Monti – Tempio Pausania railway line operated by Ferrovie Complementari della Sardegna (FCS) was also used. As early as 1933, the SFSS was at an end and the Strade Ferrate Sarde (SFS) took over the rail traffic. In 1941, the SFS also took over the Monti – Tempio railway line, thus creating a uniform, narrow-gauge network by the time the line to Monti was closed in 1958.

In 1971 the SFS came under state administration due to economic difficulties. Since this affected the also narrow-gauge Ferrovie Complementari della Sardegna (FCS) , the Ferrovie della Sardegna (FdS) were finally founded in 1989 , which eventually took over all the still existing Sardinian narrow-gauge lines. From 1997 to January 2015, only the Sassari– Nulvi railway was regularly operated. From February 1, 2015, the traffic here was by buses.

Routing

From Palau Marina, the route initially runs parallel to a road along the sea to the hairpin, then through Palau and via the Palau train station into the hinterland of Sardinia. At first with not so many bends, the route leads through vineyards and densely populated areas via Surrau to Arzachena, where usually a lot of people get on and the train is hopelessly overcrowded. Then it goes on into the mountains of Gallura via Caldosa and Capichera to Oddastru.

At least here you notice the extreme wealth of curves on the route; because during the construction period, the executing companies were paid for the running kilometer, which is why the route evades every tiny ledge and hill where a tunnel would be built today. Accordingly, the route is quite long, and the travel time between Palau and Tempio takes over two and a half hours for the 59 km. The train goes through a short tunnel and winds through the mountains to Sant'Antonio di Gallura. With the Trenino verde you drive on this section of the route through areas and valleys that you cannot see by car because there is no road.

Shortly before Sant'Antonio you can see the Lago del Liscia for the first time. After Sant'Antonio you drive on a large T-viaduct over an arm of the Lago del Liscia. At the other end of the bridge is the photo stop of the same name. Then we continue through a forest to Calangianus, where the densely populated area of ​​Tempio Pausania begins. The train goes via Lurás to Tempio Pausania. From there the route continues through mountainous areas along the Sassari – Tempio expressway to Bortigiadas. Before the stop below the village, the train enters a roundabout, inside the Bortigiadas and Galleria eliciodale Bortigiadas stops. The train then crosses under the entrance and continues through six short tunnels and via Scala Ruia to the Coghinas stop on Lago del Coghinas, where there is another photo stop.

Then the route crosses the estuary of the Coghinas, and it goes flat over Perfugas, Laerru, Martis, Nulvi, Fenosu, Osilo, Achettas, Filigheddu and Badimanna into the greater Sassari area. Coming from the right, the Sorso line joins, and on the left is the junction to the FdS depot. Then the train reaches the FS station in Sassari, on whose platform 1 the trains stop by means of a third rail. At the other end, the route continues to Alghero.

Stations on the Palau - Tempio Pausania route

The following en-route stations consist of one track with a temporary platform: Surrau, Caldosa, Capichera, San Leonardo and Rio Patto . The train often doesn't stop there either. The final stop at Palau Marina consists of a stump track where the train coming from Tempio has to turn its head and reverse into the hairpin. A siding branches off from the end of the track, where a passenger car used as a “ Trenino verde Point ” is parked. The platform is on the left side of the stunt track.

At the hairpin between Palau Marina and Palau there is a platform, which is only used by the train attendant who gets off there to set the points.

In Palau, Oddastru, Calangianus and Lurás the stations consist of two sidings next to the through track. There are also old water cranes in Palau and Calangianus .

In Arzachena there are two sidings, a stump track, several water cranes as well as a platform and station building.

The station of Sant'Antonio di Gallura is built high above the Lago del Liscia and consists of a reception building, a platform and another siding.

In Lago del Liscia there are no sidings, sidings or a platform. There is no road to this stop either, which is why it is only used as a photo stop. The trains take a ten-minute break there. A path leads down to the Lago del Liscia.

The largest station on the entire route is Tempio Pausania. The majority of the vehicle fleet is parked here, and there is a large, listed station building; because in the wood-paneled former waiting hall, folkloric oil paintings run along as a frieze (no frescoes, but wooden panels). They show typical scenes from Sardinian village life in a large-scale figurative style and come from Giuseppe Biasi from Sassari. Biasi received 750 lire for the commissioned work to beautify the then new train station. There are two platforms (one is covered) where the trains stop and many sidings that form a track harp . At the southeast end of the station there are two stub tracks on which decommissioned freight wagons are, and two at the northwest end on which the two decommissioned steam locomotives are housed. Two more butt tracks at the northwest end end in a locomotive shed . The Tempio Pausania Station is the conversion of the locomotive used the train from Palau.

Vehicle fleet

On the route there is a diesel train (a green-red narrow-gauge locomotive with two green narrow-gauge wagons, hence the term "Trenino verde", in English, small, green train), diesel multiple units and a steam train (narrow-gauge steam locomotive with a brown wagon and freight wagons, is only used when there is a risk of forest fire). A large part of the vehicle fleet is parked on the tracks in Tempio Pausania, including the narrow-gauge diesel locomotive, the passenger cars (all green, with the FdS logo or ARST printed on them), the still operational steam locomotive and the freight cars, a brown narrow-gauge - Passenger cars and several decommissioned freight cars and two decommissioned steam locomotives. Another narrow-gauge passenger car is parked in Palau Marina, which is used as the so-called Trenino verde Point, and a freight car is stationed on the siding in Sant'Antonio di Gallura. The steam locomotive is housed in the depot in Sassari.

traffic

Between Tempio Pausania and Palau or Nulvi, as well as between Sassari and Tempio Pausania and between Perfugas and Lago del Liscia, the Trenino Verde runs in the summer months . The Sardinian government also intends to discontinue this in order to save route maintenance costs. Thanks to a short-term operating aid, trips on the Trenino Verde could take place in summer 2015. On Saturdays and Thursdays, trips from Sassari to Tempio Pausania (mostly diesel multiple units) are offered once a day; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday there are three trips a day from Palau to Tempio Pausania (also called " Trenino verde Gallura " and pulled by the diesel locomotive); Thursday and Friday the train runs from Perfugas via Tempio Pausania to Lago del Liscia (mostly diesel train).

Charter trips continue to operate between Tempio Pausania and Arzachena z. B. the AIDA shipping company as shore excursions for cruises that dock in Olbia. The train can also be rented, whereby you can choose between the diesel multiple unit, the diesel train and, if the risk of forest fire permits, a steam train. This costs around a thousand to two thousand euros per round trip, and can be booked on the Trenino verde website, as can the tickets, which can also be bought directly on the train or at the station.

Picture gallery

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  LDe 503 on the way from Sassari to Palau shortly before Nulvi

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  Nulvi train station

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  Viaduct between Nulvi and Martis

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  Bortigiadas train station

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  Sant'Antonio di Gallura train station

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  Tempio Pausania train station

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  Palau Marina Station (2009)

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  Railcar in Palau Marina (1984)

Trivia

At Bortigiadas , a roundabout loop was created to gain height , with the town's train station inside.

literature

• Elettrio Corda: Le contrastate vaporiere - 1864/1984: 120 anni di vicende delle strade ferrate sarde: dalle reali alle secondarie, dalle complementari alle statali , Chiarella publishing house

Web links

Commons : Sassari – Palau railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Notice of suspension of rail transport
• Bus schedule from February 1, 2015
• Trenino Verde Tempio-Arzachena-Palau timetable early summer 2015

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christoph Müller: Bahnverkehr Sassari - Nulvi will be discontinued In: RailBusiness Newsletter of January 29, 2015
2. ↑ Christoph Müller: The Trenino Verde threatens to stop In: RailBusiness No. 35, 2014, p. 6.
3. ↑ Christoph Müller: Sardinia: Trenino Verde goes on In: RailBusiness No. 25, 2015, p. 9.
4. ↑ Timetables 2015 on the Trenino verde home page ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.