Salerno – Reggio di Calabria railway line

Salerno – Reggio di Calabria Centrale
FS E 402 125 on May 22, 2009 with an IC in Villa San Giovanni
Route number (RFI) :	123 (Salerno – Battipaglia) 142 (Battipaglia – Reggio di Calabria)
Course book series (IT) :	87 (Salerno – Paola) 88 (Paola – Reggio di Calabria)
Route length:	374.190 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	3 kV  =
Dual track :	continuous
Operating points and routes
Legend from Napoli and Cancello from Benevento 53.090 Salerno 12  m slm Mercatello 4  m slm 62.706 Pontecagnano Faiano 25  m slm 69.510 Montecorvino Rovella - Bellizzi 50  m slm 72.793 0.000 Battipaglia 68  m slm after Metaponto 5.719 PM San Nicola Varco 26  m slm ( Sele ) 13.269 Albanella 9  m slm 17.679 Capaccio - Roccadaspide 23  m slm 21,322 Paestum 17  m slm Ogliastro Cilento 11  m slm 29.686 Agropoli - Castellabate 13  m slm 35,316 PM Torchiara 103  m slm 35.800 Galleria Rutino 40.210 41.368 PM Rutino 106  m slm 46.775 Omignano - Salento 42  m slm 50.069 Vallo della Lucania - Castelnuovo 25  m slm Casal Velino 12  m slm 58.684 Velia since 1936 60.697 Ascea 12  m slm 69.419 Pisciotta - Palinuro 52  m slm Caprioli 74  m slm 74.558 PM San Mauro la Bruca 78  m slm 78,808 Centola 60  m slm 83,344 Celle Bulgheria - Roccagloriosa 75  m slm Galleria San Cataldo 90.942 Torre Orsaia 39  m slm 96,041 Policastro Bussentino 8  m slm Capitello 20  m slm 101.558 Vibonati 10  m slm 104.798 Sapri 9  m slm Campania - Basilicata border 111.092 Acquafredda 55  m slm 117.104 Maratea 88  m slm 121.679 Marina di Maratea 40  m slm Border between Basilicata and Calabria 129.281 Praja - Aieta - Tortora 8  m slm 135.083 San Nicola Arcella (until 2010) 21  m slm 140.169 Scalea - Santa Domenica Talao 19  m slm 145,301 Marcellina - Verbicaro - Orsomarso 27  m slm 148.363 Grisolia - Santa Maria 22  m slm 151.897 Cirella - Maierà (until 2010) 10  m slm 155.661 Diamante - Buonvicino 21  m slm 163.061 Belvedere Marittimo 9  m slm 165.924 Sangineto (until 2010) 10  m slm 169.834 Capo Bonifati 14  m slm 177.895 Cetraro 10  m slm 181.147 Acquappesa 10  m slm 184.386 Guardia Piemontese Terme 8  m slm 191.104 Fuscaldo 10  m slm 197.001 Paola 10  m slm from and to Cosenza 202.268 San Lucido Marina 9  m slm 206.386 Torremezzo di Falconara 209.853 Fiumefreddo Bruzio 9  m slm 213.742 Longobardi 9  m slm 218,993 Belmonte Calabro 10  m slm 222,351 Amantea 8  m slm 229,946 Campora-San Giovanni - Serra Ajello 7  m slm 236,431 Nocera Tirinese 5  m slm 242.165 Falerna 6  m slm 249.832 Gizzeria Lido 5  m slm from Catanzaro Lido 253.871 Lamezia Terme Centrale 26  m slm 260.681 San Pietro a Maida - Maida 22  m slm 264,089 Curinga 32  m slm 268,391 PM Eccellente to Rosarno Angitola 282,321 Vibo Valentia - Pizzo 287.167 Galleria Stefanaconi (4365 m) 287.167 Galleria Cridello (863 m) 293.295 Galleria Francica (6093 m) 300.792 Mileto Galleria Cisterna (1016 m) from Tropea 313.689 Rosarno 18  m slm Eranova 318.4 37  m slm 323,574 Gioia Tauro 31  m slm to Cinquefrondi to Sinopoli Ponte Petrace (250 m) 328.7 Taureana 84  m slm Capo Sperone (290 m) 331.945 Palmi 85  m slm Galleria Sant'Elia Janculla (5120 m) Galleria Sant'Elia Torre di Palmi (2477 m) Galleria Janculla Leone Frana (2629 m) Galleria San Sebastiano (1657/1696 m) 342,384 Bagnara 18  m slm 347.285 Favazzina 21  m slm 351,478 Scilla 12  m slm 356.878 Villa San Giovanni- Cannitello 9  m slm 360.102 Villa San Giovanni 6  m slm Villa San Giovanni Marittima 361.945 Villa San Giovanni Bolano (until 2010) 363,800 Reggio di Calabria Catona 12  m slm 366,350 Reggio di Calabria Gallico 13  m slm 368.128 Reggio di Calabria Archi 17  m slm 371.003 Reggio di Calabria Santa Caterina since 1989 11  m slm 372,489 Reggio di Calabria Lido 8  m slm 374.190 Reggio di Calabria Centrale 6  m slm to Taranto

The Salerno – Reggio di Calabria railway is the southernmost part of the north-south connection on the Italian mainland and connects the metropolises of Salerno in the Campania region and Reggio Calabria in the Calabria region .

history

Planning and construction

The construction of a direct connection between Battipaglia and Reggio Calabria was a great challenge due to a large number of engineering structures and was initially realized in a single lane between 1883 and 1895. The section between Salerno and Battipaglia was completed on May 20, 1866 as part of the construction of another railway connection to the south, the Battipaglia – Metaponto railway line .

In 1866, the Società Vittorio Emanuele railway company acquired the concession to build a connection from Metaponte via Controne to Reggio Calabria and Taranto. This was made possible by the Railways Reorganization Act of 1865. The combination with the Battipaglia-Potenza-Metaponto railway line brought a continuous rail connection to the Strait of Messina for the first time from 1880. However, the two routes also had a total length of around 670 kilometers.

As early as 1861, the construction of the Ferrovia Tirrenica Meridionale was proposed by several parties, as it was of great use for the regions of Calabria and Sicily. It was finally approved by the government in 1870 and studies began. These studies looked at the construction through the “ Vallo di Diano ” via Eboli and a route through the Cilento via Valle della Lucania to Sapri. As a result, there were heated debates in parliament about both variants, especially between the MPs from the regions of Basilicata and Campania. It was not until 1879 that it was finally decided that both variants should be built by the state.

Policastro train station

Furthermore, the use of the rail for the transport of citrus fruits from Campania and Sicily led to a higher transport volume in those years, as the cultivation and trade of the fruits were subsidized by the state. After the conclusion of trade agreements with the American and Central European countries on the trade in citrus fruits, the planning and implementation of the railway line moved further into the foreground, since the completion of the rail line would make traffic significantly faster and cheaper. Between 1883 and 1887, the first sections of the Battipaglia-Agropoli-Vallo Castelnuovo (50 km) and Reggio Calabria-Bagnara (29 km) route were opened to traffic.

Meanwhile, the construction of the route through the Vallo di Diano began, albeit slowly . The construction work of the 78 kilometers of the route from Sicignano degli Alburni to Lagonegro lasted until 1892. Then the construction work was discontinued due to the difficult topographical conditions. The section that had been started was operated as the Sicignano degli Alburni – Lagonegro railway line until the line was closed in 1987. In 1889, the section Vallo della Lucania - Pisciotta was opened to traffic. In the following years the line was gradually completed. The numerous and long tunnels and bridges on the sections between Agropoli - Scalea and between Palmi and Villa San Giovanni proved particularly difficult . In 1895, after twelve years of construction, the tracks of the Ferrovia Tirrenica Meridionale near Paola were finally connected and construction was completed.

section	release
Pastena - Battipaglia	June 14, 1863
Salerno – Pastena	May 20, 1866
Battipaglia - Agropoli	June 4, 1883
Reggio di Calabria - Villa San Giovanni	May 19, 1884
Villa San Giovanni - Scilla	December 28, 1885
Scilla– Bagnara	April 26, 1886
Agropoli - Vallo della Lucania	May 4, 1887
Bagnara - Palmi	December 31, 1888
Palmi - Gioia Tauro ( prov. )	February 3, 1889
Vallo della Lucania - Pisciotta	June 30, 1889
Gioia Tauro ( prov. ) –Gioia Tauro (defin . )	November 27, 1890
Nicotera - Gioia Tauro	November 21, 1891
Ricadi - Nicotera	January 1, 1893
Pizzo - Ricadi	June 6, 1894
Pisciotta - Praia Aieta Tortora	July 30, 1894
S. Eufemia Marina Gizzeria-Pizzo	November 15, 1894
Praia Aieta Tortora – S. Eufemia Marina	July 31, 1895

Operation and expansion

The attractiveness of the faster and significantly shorter connection immediately ensured a continuous and steady increase in freight and passenger traffic. The new railway line created new jobs and positive economic development. New centers were formed. From Paola followed the construction of further railway lines to Catanzaro (1899) and Cosenza (1915) and from Gioia Tauro to Cinquefrondi . Tourism also gained momentum. The place Guardia Piemontese benefited with its thermal baths, it emerged hotels in Paola and Sapri, but also the infrastructure of the railway line itself has been expanded. Freight terminals, further train stations and repair workshops were built.

Route view at Ascea station

In 1939, electrification was completed, ushering in a new era. The traffic could now be operated with the much more powerful electric locomotives FS E.626 , FS E.326 and FS E.428 . In the 1960s, the line reached its capacity limit as a result of increasing passenger and freight traffic, especially food from Sicily . The result was the expansion of the existing line with a second track, as well as a partially new layout of the route. The existing tunnels were adapted to contemporary construction methods, the route became more straightforward through the construction of new longer bridges and tunnels, especially on the sections between Agropoli and Praia a Mare and between Palmi and Villa San Giovanni. The first phase of modernization was completed in the late 1960s. The 1970s brought a second phase of structural modernization with the construction of two completely new double-track sections between Praia and Scalea and between Rosarno and Lamezia (then Eufemia Lamezia). The old route through the cities of Vibo Valentia , Pizzo Calabro , Tropea and Nicotera was not abandoned, but remained single-track and in operation for regional traffic.

Railway line at Velia

State of development

Today the line is consistently double-tracked and electrified. It is currently unclear whether it will be expanded for Italian express traffic in the future or a completely new route will be built. The Salerno - Reggio Calabria rail link is part of the trans-European railway axis Berlin-Palermo . The financing of this project is still open.

use

The railway line is still operated in mixed traffic due to a lack of alternatives. Both freight trains and regional and long-distance trains such as the Frecciabianca use the route. A trip with the Frecciabianca takes 3:41 hours today, with the Frecciargento 3:14 hours.

Web links

Commons : Southern Tyrrhenian railway  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Railway Atlas Italy a. Slovenia . Schweers + Wall, 2010, ISBN 978-3-89494-129-1 .
2. ^ Ordine di Servizio n. 52 - 1936
3. ^ Note flash , in " I Treni Oggi " No. 97 (October 1989), p. 10.
4. ↑ Chronological listing of the opening of sections of the Italian railway from 1839 to December 31, 1926 ( Italian ) Trenidicarta.it. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
5. ^ Travel information from Trenitalia ( Italian ) Trenitalia. Retrieved November 22, 2014.