| Trams in Rome | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Info | |||
| Locale | Rome | ||
| Transit type | Tram | ||
| Number of lines | 6 | ||
| Number of stations | 192 | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 1877 | ||
| Operator(s) | ATAC | ||
| Number of vehicles | 164 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 1,445 mm (4 ft 8⅞ in)[2] | ||
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The current Rome tram system is a leftover from what once was the largest tram system in Italy. With its fragmented structure, it does not currently function as a backbone of the city's public transport. The system is owned and operated by Agenzia per i Trasporti Autoferrotranviari del Comune di Roma (ATAC SpA).[2]
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The key node of the tram network in Rome is Porta Maggiore, where four out of six lines meet (3, 5, 14 and 19), as well as the Rome-Pantano railway. This is about 1 km east of Roma Termini railway station, and not connected to the metro network.
The following lines currently run:
This short line runs through the Flaminio neighbourhood, connecting at Piazzale Flaminio (near the Porta del Popolo) with Line A and the Rome-Viterbo railway line.
Due to maintenance and reconstruction works in the area south of Porta Maggiore, the route is currently replaced with buses. Theoretically, this is the longest line after line 19, going round the city centre in a wide arc from north via east to south-west. At the western endpoint Trastevere railway station, this line connects with the Regional railways (lines 1, 3 and 5), while connections with Metro A are at Manzoni and San Giovanni. There are four connections with metro Line B: one at Policlinico, and three on the stretch Piramide-Circo Massimo (Rome Metro)-Colosseo, where line 3 follows Metro B on the surface.
This line runs east from Termini railway station. It connects with line A at Termini metro station, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and Manzoni.
Line 8 is the newest line of the system, always running with modern stock. It also reaches furthest into the historic city centre, connecting it with Trastevere railway station. Although there are plans to extend the line eastward from Largo Argentina to Stazione Termini, Rome's mayor Alemanno spoke of a new terminus west of Largo Argentina, at Via delle Botteghe Oscure, in August 2010.[3]
This line mostly follows the route of line 5.
This line connects the Vatican with the rest of the tram network, following the route of first line 3, and then line 5. It connects with the metro at Ottaviano - San Pietro - Musei Vaticani, Lepanto (Rome Metro) (both Line A) and Policlinico (line B). Line 19 is the longest line, connecting with all other tram lines, except for line 8.
Rome had horse buses after 1845, when pope Gregory XVI authorized a line from Piazza Venezia to the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura to transport pilgrims. This first line did not run according to a timetable; trams left when they were full. Horse trams arrived in 1877, connecting Piazzale Flaminio with the Ponte Milvio, the current line 2.
In 1895, electric trams arrived, connecting Termini station to Piazza San Silvestro. By 1904, all horse tram lines had been electrified - the Ponte Milvio tram last. By 1905, a total of 17 tram lines was operating, using 144 electric vehicles, with a number of horse-drawn trams functioning as backup.
After a few years of competition with the incumbent company SRTO, in 1929, government-controlled company ATAG (Azienda Tranvie Autobus del Governo di Roma) took over the whole network, and by the end of that year, the network had reached its largest extent: no fewer than 59 lines along 140 km of track. As many lines shared parts of their routes, a large reorganization took place in 1930: from then on, two circular lines functioned alongside 24 radial lines, which all started out from the inner ring (the 'black ring'), and crossed the outer ring (the 'red ring'). Within the inner ring, all tram lines were cancelled and substituted by autobuses. 40 kilometers of tracks were dismantled, and part of the older rolling stock was demolished.
After the Second World War, the operating company changed its name to ATAC (Azienda Tranvie ed Autobus del Comune di Roma), but the network kept shrinking. The inner ring was deactivated in 1959; the outer ring only ran in one direction from that year until reconstruction in 1975. The connection Piazzale Flaminio-Ponte Milvio was cancelled in 1960 and reconstructed in 1983 (northern part) and 1990 (southern part). Line 8 was opened in 1998. There are plans to open more lines, including connections from the current northern terminus of line 8 to Termini, and a line from the same terminus towards the Vatican.
The number of horse trams is unknown, but there were probably over a hundred.
This list includes all stock of the ATAC (including that running under its former names AATM, ATM, ATG, ATAG, ATAC or the Trambus brand.)
In the course of time, hundreds of films have been filmed in Rome, partly due to the presence of the studios at Cinecittà. Trams feature in some of them:
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