Ferrovia circumetnea

Catania – Riposto

Railcar in the Randazzo station

Route length:

110.963 km

Gauge :

950 mm ( Italian meter gauge )

Maximum slope :

36 ‰

Top speed:

60 km / h

Legend

0.0	Catania Porto until 1993	3 m slm
	Messina – Syracuse railway line
	Catania Gaito until 1993	18 m slm
	Catania Corso Italia until 1999	23 m slm
3.8	Catania Borgo transition to
	Borgo tunnel
5.5	Cibali
7.2	Nesima	136 m slm
9.2	Lineri	172 m slm
	A18
11.1	Misterbianco	205 m slm
14.2	Belpasso-Camporotondo	252 m slm
18.2	Valcorrente	264 m slm
20.8	Giaconia	297 m slm
22.6	Paternò	254 m slm
	former route until 2009
25.7	Scalilli until 2009	335 m slm

	former route until 2010
	Santa Maria di Licordia tunnel
	Santa Maria di Licodia Sud since 2010
	Santa Maria di Licodia Centro since 2010
29.2	Santa Maria di Licodia until 2010	442 m slm


	former route until 2015
	Biancavilla Poggio Rosso since 2015
	Biancavilla tunnel
	Biancavilla Centro since 2015
33.5	Biancavilla until 2015	508 m slm
	Biancavilla Colombo since 2015

	Biancavilla Pozzillo since 2015
34.8	Biancavilla Circonvallazione until 2015	544 m slm

	former route until 2011
	Adrano tunnel
38.6	Adrano Cappellone since 2011
	Adrano Cappellone until 2011
39.0	Adrano Centro since 2011
39.0	Adrano until 2011	587 m slm


41.2	Adrano North since 2011
	Sacro Cuore
	Ruvolita
45.5	Passo Zingaro	700 m slm
	Quattromiglia
48.4	Ruvolazzo	775 m slm
53.8	Bronte Casello 54	811 m slm
53.8	Bronte	833 m slm
	Contrada Difesa
	Rocca Calanna tunnel
62.8	Maletto	922 m slm
67.9	Gurrida	872 m slm
73.6	Randazzo former transition to FS	753 m slm
79.2	Calderara	685 m slm
81.6	Passopisciaro-Moio	653 m slm
	former route until 2011
86.3	Solicchiata since 2011	664 m slm
	Solicchiata until 2011

	Rovittello until 1981
	former route 1926–1961
	Castiglione di Sicilia
90.7	Cerro	644 m slm

93.8	Linguaglossa	554 m slm
97.8	Terremorte	489 m slm
100.9	Piedimonte Etneo	362 m slm
104.1	Santa Venera	282 m slm
107.3	Mascali Nunziata	176 m slm
108.9	Cutula	132 m slm
111.4	Villa di Giarre	52 m slm
112.1	Giarre transition to FS	42 m slm
	Messina – Syracuse railway line
	Riposto-Villa Comunale
113.5	Riposto	18 m slm

The Ferrovia Circumetnea (FCE), also Circumetnea , is a regional public transport company in Sicily , a 950 mm narrow gauge railway almost around the Etna operates. It is the last stretch of the formerly extensive narrow-gauge railway network in Sicily.

history

The idea for the FCE was conceived in 1880 when a railway network was being built in Sicily. At the request of numerous municipalities and localities around Etna, a state decree of December 31, 1883 founded a consortium to build up the FCE, in which the Province of Catania , the Chamber of Commerce of Catania and the municipalities of Riposto , Giarre , Mascali , Piedimonte Etneo , Linguaglossa , Castiglione di Sicilia , Randazzo , Maletto , Bronte , Adrano , Biancavilla , Santa Maria di Licodia , Paternò , Belpasso and Misterbianco worked together.

The British investor Robert Trewhella then took the decisive step to settle the latent discrepancies regarding the exact route and to realize the Circum by reaching a compromise with the consortium on September 11, 1885. He promised to plan, lay out and equip the route. In return, he received the exclusive rights to use the future route. Construction work finally began in 1889. On February 2, 1895, the first section from Catania Borgo to Adrano was opened.

While the FCE was able to withstand the regular damage caused by earthquakes and eruptions of Mount Etna for a long time, shortly after the end of the Second World War it ran into financial hardship due to bomb damage that had to be repaired, so that it was finally taken over by the state. Since 1999 the FCE has operated the first metro line in Catania .

Locomotive 14 in Catania Borgo
Etna and Paternò station
Diesel locomotive in Cerro

FCE today

The train running on the original FCE route between Catania Borgo and Giarre – Riposto is called Littorina in Sicily . Originally, the railway line ran beyond its current endpoint, Borgo, to the port of Catania. This section of the route was replaced in 1999 by the newly opened Catania subway . There are no train journeys on the FCE that cover the entire route. The train traffic is basically broken in Randazzo. The Catania – Randazzo section is served almost every hour, sometimes with additional booster trips to Adrano Nord. There are only a few train journeys a day between Randazzo and Riposto, most of which are used for school traffic. The FCE also offers special tourist trips.

In addition to its railway line, the FGC also operates several regional and municipal bus routes in the greater Catania area.

expansion

In the communities of Adrano, Santa Maria di Licordia and Biancavilla, the railway line was laid underground. New crossing stations were built on the new route sections. With the exception of a few occupied stations, all unoccupied crossing stations are now equipped with fallback switches.

Traction vehicles

Only multiple units or multiple units with sidecars are in use on the route in regular operation.

In 2015, four diesel-electric “Vulcano” double multiple units were purchased from Newag and put into operation in 2016.

The historic ALn 56.05 multiple unit, known as the Littorina, is available for special trips and, after being refurbished a few years ago, is occasionally used to order or for celebrations.

At the Circumetnea there are still two steam locomotives, No. 10 (ex. MASCALI ) and No. 14 (ex LA MEUSE of Ferrovia Alifana ). The exterior of No. 14 stands on a switch from the Wilhelminian era with a water crane next to the reception building of the Catania-Borgo train station.