Trieste – Opicina railway line

Trieste – Opicina

The terminus Piazza Oberdan in Trieste

Route length:

5.175 km

Gauge :

1000 mm ( meter gauge )

Power system :

600 volts =

Maximum slope :

260 ‰

Minimum radius :

40 m

Legend

0.000	Piazza Oberdan	3 m
0.405	Piazza Scorcola start of the funicular	17 m
0.693	Sant'Anastasio	55 m
0.983	Romagna	115 m
1.274	Vetta Scorcola end of the funicular	177 m
1,823	Cologna Campo Sportivo	210 m
2.140	Cologna Chiesetta	221 m
2,695	Conconello	263 m
	Jesenice – Trieste railway line
3,573	Spells	305 m
4,282	Obelisco	343 m
4,582	Campo Romano	330 m
4.765	Via Nazionale	330 m

5.175	Opicina	329 m
	Railway line from Trieste
	after Opicina Campagna †
6.4	Villa Opicina (Opcina State Railway Station)	310 m
	Railway line to Vienna

The train in the lower part of the funicular, just before the Sant'Anastasio stop

The railway line Trieste – Opicina is a 5.175 kilometer long northern Italian narrow-gauge railway , the carriages of which overcome the steepest section of the route with the help of a funicular . The meter-gauge railway connects the port city of Trieste with the suburb of Opicina and has been operated by the Trieste Transporti (TT) company since 2001 . Previous operating companies were the Società Anonima Piccole Ferrovie - SPF (1902–1961), the Servizio Comunale Trenovia - SCT (1961–1970), the Azienda Comunale Elettricità Gas Acqua e Tranvie - ACEGAT (1970–1977) and the Azienda Consorziale Trasporti - ACT (1977-2000).

Because of their Regional tramway -like operation is cable car to Opicina today mostly as a tram ( Italian Tranvia di Opicina or Trenovia di Opicina , triestinisch Tram de Opcina , Slovenian Openski tramvaj ), respectively. However, it is licensed as a local railway and was both operationally and entrepreneurially independent of the earlier Trieste tram - this was standard-gauge and ran from 1876 to 1970. The route to Opicina is now integrated into the network of urban bus routes as line 2 , at times the standard-gauge tram, however, still ran without a line number.

route

The train starts in Piazza Oberdan , which is just above sea level in the northern city center of Trieste. On its journey to the center of Opicina, the train climbs 340 meters . The adhesion section has a maximum gradient of eight percent, the 799 meter long steep section between the stations Piazza Scorcola and Vetta Scorcola of 26 percent. The 160 meters in altitude between the two stations are overcome with the help of a funicular. The uphill car is placed in front of the lower car of the funicular at the Piazza Scorcola valley station , the downhill car at the Vetta Scorcola mountain station behind the upper car of the funicular. When the funicular railway travels uphill, the railcar traveling uphill is pushed up the steep section and the one traveling downhill is braked, with speeds of up to twelve kilometers per hour. The sliding carriages of the cable car cannot themselves transport passengers or goods. Their flat design allows the driver of the car driving downhill an unobstructed view of the route.

The drive of the funicular is located in the Vetta Scorcola mountain station . The machine system supplied by Bell Maschinenfabrik in Switzerland has a drive power of 200 HP. The DC motor is supplied with energy directly from the contact line network.

business

The timetable is determined by the funicular in the steep section. The train runs in a rigid 20-minute clock with continuous three courses in use are. Operations have been interrupted since an accident on August 16, 2016. The resumption of operations is questionable.

history

The Obelisco stop in the early days of the railway

The local railway to Opicina was put into operation on September 9, 1902. In July 1906, the extension to the Opicina State Station on the Jesenice – Trieste railway line was opened to traffic. The steep section was first overcome with a cogwheel train , the two locomotives of which pushed the passenger railcars over the cogwheel route at a speed of seven to eight kilometers per hour. The railcars reached a speed of 15 kilometers per hour on the adhesion sections.

Due to the increasing numbers of passengers and the limited capacity of the rack railway, it was dismantled in 1927 and replaced by the funicular railway, which began operating on April 26, 1928. In 1978 the funicular cars were replaced. The new cars no longer had a box-shaped structure like the first car, but only a small cabin for the operating personnel. In 2005 the funicular cars were replaced again. The latest generation of funicular cars no longer has a cabin or pantograph because the system is now remotely controlled by the drivers of the railcars.

The railway to Opicina was temporarily closed on September 2, 2012 after a derailment due to renovation work. Operations resumed on August 18, 2014.

On August 16, 2016, cars 404 and 405 collided head-on at Via Commerciale 180. Eight people were injured in the accident.

Renovation work is currently in progress and is already in the final phase. According to Mayor Roberto Dipiazza, a resumption of rail traffic is already being planned for early autumn 2020.

meaning

Originally the railway was of central importance for the development of the Trieste hinterland. In 1913, it carried 459,000 passengers, a large part of the local population. Today it has lost its importance as an important means of transport for the local population and is now primarily a tourist attraction that is dependent on high subsidies. It is still highly valued by the people of Trieste and sung about in numerous Italian and Slovenian folk songs.

vehicles

A total of six four-axle railcars are available for the operation of the railway, including four from 1935 (401, 402, 404 and 405) and two slightly younger ones from 1942 (406 and 407). All cars were built by the Officine Meccaniche Stanga , the electrical equipment comes from Tecnomasio Italiano Brown Boveri (TIBB) . There are also two historical two-axle vehicles from the early days of the railway.