Metropolitana di Napoli
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Metropolitana di Napoli is the name of the underground rapid transit railway system of the city of Naples, Italy.
Until five years ago the network was made up of five urban and some suburban lines which were poorly connected with each other: Ferrovia Cumana and Circumflegrea, Ferrovia Circumvesuviana, Ferrovia Alifana (now MetroCampania Nord-Est) and Metropolitana Trenitalia. A major project is now underway to restructure the city's transport system and to connect the existing lines. It aims at a system with a total of ten lines, new interchange stations and parking areas. in addition the four existing funicular lines that connect the hillside suburb of Vomero with the city centre will be connected with the metro lines.
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[edit] Lines
[edit] Line 1 - Metrò dell'Arte
This line is partly open and has been renamed Metrò dell'Arte (Metro of Art) because of the contemporary art works installed in its stations. It will constitute the central ring of the eventual metro.
Planning began in the 1960s and construction commenced in March 1993 between the stations of Vanvitelli and Colli Aminei. This section was opened in July 1995 and it was later extended to Piscinola - Scampia. In 2001, it was extended from Vanvitelli to Museo (at the National Archaeological Museum) where it connects with Cavour on Line 2 by a long underground walkway. It was extended to Dante in the heart of the city centre in 2002. An intermediate station was opened at Materdei in 2003.
The line is currently being extended to Trenitalia's main Naples station at Piazza Garibaldi, passing through the port area where it will interconnect with the proposed Line 6 at Municipio (Town Hall). This is due to open in 2008.
The line will continue to Naples International Airport and on to Piscinola to complete a long ring, due to open in 2011. A proposal for a spur line from Piscinola to Giugliano is under development.
[edit] Line 2
Line 2 crosses the city of Naples from East to West direction, from Pozzuoli to Gianturco and is being extended to San Giovanni a Teduccio on the eastern periphery of the city.
This line is in fact an old Trenitalia "metro". It was opened in 1925 before any other underground urban railway in Italy, except for the Cumana railway (Line 7), opened in 1889, which was the second underground urban railway in Europe after the London Underground. Line 2 also serves as the Naples - Rome direttissima (old high-speed railway, completed in the 1930s) and operates in the city on the FS network.
Construction was begun in 1911 and was then suspended during World War I. It was completed in 1925. In 2002, Line 1 and Line 2 were connected from a pedestrian tunnel between Museo and Cavour.
Line 2's suburban services are currently provided by delapidated double-decker rollingstock, with poor access for an urban railway, and operate through low platforms designed for long-distance trains, requiring several steps from the platform to sitting or standing places. Only at Garibaldi are there separate platforms for suburban and other trains.
[edit] Line 3
Line 3 opened in 2004 and runs for approximately 12 km from the city centre (Porta Nolana) to San Giorgio a Cremano via Madonnelle and constitutes part of an eastern ring. It partly uses lines of the Circumvesuviana and it will connect with Lines 1, 2 and 4.
[edit] Line 4
This line constitutes the other part of the eastern ring, connecting Naples to the Vesuvio (Vesuvius) station near the outer suburb of Ponticelli. It uses the Circumvesuviana line between the city and Sarno and its quadruplication is planned within a few years.
[edit] Line 5
Line 5 will constitute part of an western ring, connecting the station of Montesanto with the north-western outskirts, built on additional tracks and tunnels next to the existing line of the Circumflegrea railway. Recently the new stations of Traiano and the Trencia have been opened in the suburb of Pianura. A connection is planned with Line 1 at Cilea.
[edit] Line 6
Line 6 will connect Fuorigrotta to the West of Naples with the city center at Municipio. It partly follows the route of the old line Linea Tranviaria Rapida (Fast Tram Line), begun in 1980s and later abandoned. It is intended to connect with lines 1, 2, 7 and 8. The first section (Mostra - Mergellina) is forecast to be opened in December 2006. In July 2006 preliminary work began on the extension of the line to Municipio, where work is already already under way on Line 1.
[edit] Line 7
Line 7 will form the second part of the western ring and it will share track with Line 5 from Montesanto to Soccavo. The remainder is under construction and will form an underground link between the Circumflegrea railway and the Cumana railway and will connect the new campus of the University of Naples Federico II at Monte Sant'Angelo to Fuorigrotta.
[edit] Line 8
Line 8 will form the final part of the western ring and will largely follow the route of the Cumana railroad from Fuorigrotta to Montesanto, with a spur to Bagnoli. It would connect with Lines 2, 6 and 7 at Fuorigrotta.
[edit] Line 9
This line is still being planned. It is also called the Line of the museums and will connect Colli Aminei to the National Archaeological Museum via the Museo di Capodimonte, providing an alternative route to part of Line 1. Two connections with Line 1 and one with Line 2 are planned.
[edit] Line 10
In July 2003 the City of Naples adopted a plan for a line (Metro of Casoria) that would connect the city centre (Piazza Cavour, connecting with Lines 1 and 2) to Naples International Airport at Capodichino (connecting with line 1), the neighboring municipality of Casoria and the high speed railway station in the municipality of Afragola.
