Ancona–Orte railway

Ancona–Orte
Overview
Type Heavy rail
System Italian railway system
Status Operational
Locale Italy
Termini Ancona
Orte
Operation
Opening 1866
Operator(s) RFI (2001–present)
FS (1905–2001)
RA (1885–1905)
SFR (1866–1885)
Technical
Line length 212 km (132 mi)
No. of tracks 2 (Ancona–Montecarotto, P.M. 228–Fabriano, Foligno–Campello, Terni–Orte)
otherwise 1
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification 3 kV DC
Operating speed 180 km/h (110 mph)
Route map
Legend
 1.720 Ancona Marittima 2 m
 from Lecce
0.000
203.996
 Ancona 3 m
 200.557 Ancona Torrette
 198.307 Palombina 4 m
195.299
285.429
 Falconara Marittima 4 m
 to Bologna
 283.828 Falconara Stadiosince 2004 [1]
 280.961 Castelferretti 19 m
 278.185 Chiaravalle 22 m
 267.403 Jesi 69 m
 261.240 Pantiere di Castelbellinosince 1949 [2] 86 m
 258.430 Montecarotto-Castelbellino 97 m
 252.541 Castelplanio-Cupramontana 125 m
 246.195 Serra San Quirico 158 m
 Della Rossa (1228 m)
 239.397 Gengasince 1916 [3] 195 m
 from Civitanova Marche
 232.018 Albacina 240 m
228.054
228.208
 P.M. 228
 Fabriano (1717 m)
 223.903 Fabriano 325 m
 to Pergola
 216.950 Cancelli di Fabriano 423 m
 Fossato (1908 m)
 211.601 P.M. Galleria Fossato
 207.729 Fossato di Vico-Gubbio 463 m
 201.893 Gualdo Tadino 462 m
 194.796 Gaifana 484 m
 189.460 Ponte Parrano di Nocera Umbrasince 1947 [4] 440 m
 184.601 Nocera Umbra 396 m
 179.245 Valtopina 360 m
 175.429 Capodacqua-Pieve Fanonica 321 m
 170.146 Scanzano Belfiore 270 m
 from Terontola
 165.971 Foligno 239 m
 157.086 Trevi 214 m
 150.607 Campello sul Clitunno 232 m
 146.724 San Giacomo di Spoleto
 140.709 Spoleto 304 m
 133.927 Baiano di Spoleto 380 m
 Balduini (1642 m)
 123.591 Giuncano 353 m
 111.479 Terni 129 m
 to Umbertide / to Sulmona
98.770
97.320
 Narni-Amelia 93 m
 Santa Croce (3660 m)
 91.884 Nera Montoro 83 m
 88.341 San Liberato 67 m
 from Florence
 82.503 Orte 52 m
 to Rome

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The Ancona–Orte railway is a rail line in central Italy connecting the city of Ancona with Orte, and therefore with the capital city, Rome. The line crosses Apennine Mountains from Tyrrhenian Sea to Adriatic Sea and also serves Terni, Spoleto and Foligno.

History

A map of railway lines in Italy in 1870, with the Ancona–Orte line completed.
Track Opened[5]
Falconara Marittima–Ancona 17 November 1861[6]
Orte–Foligno 4 January 1866
Foligno–Falconara Marittima 29 April 1866

Plans for a railway line between Rome and the Adriatic coast started in 1846 in the Papal state, after the death of Pope Gregory XVI, who was strongly against rail. The construction of the new rail line was authorized on 7 November 1846 by the new Pope Pius IX, to link Rome with the main port on the Adriatic sea, Ancona.[7] The aim was also to reach Bologna and Modena, and thus to connect the Papal state to Lombardy and Veneto railway network.

The project was initially named Strada Ferrata «Pio Centrale» in honor of the Pope, but was finished only on 29 April 1866, under the newly born Kingdom of Italy. Works were slowed down by the process of Italian unification, lack of funds and complications due to the difficult terrain. However, the partially completed line was opened since 1865, with trains operated by Società per le strade ferrate romane (SSFR).

The line was interrupted by Papal army in 1870 in an attempt to fight back the Italian army invading Rome. The line was soon reactivated once Rome became capital of the Kingdom. The state took control of the line after the failure of SSFR. The line was subsequently incorporated into the Adriatic network and managed by Società Italiana per le strade ferrate meridionali (Italian company for southern railways), which doubled tracks between Rome and Orte in 1890.

The management of the line was moved to Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) in 1905. In 1907 the section between Ancona and Falconara Marittima was doubled. The electrification of the line was completed on 28 October 1935 and travel time fell from about 7 to 4 hours. The line was severely damaged during the Second World War and was completely reopened only in 1946.

Operation

Regional, Intercity and Eurostar trains are operated on the line by Trenitalia. The capacity is severely limited by single track sections. Of the total length of 299 km, 125 km are single track.

See also

References and notes

  1. ↑ Impianti FS. In: ″I Treni″ Nr. 267 (February 2005), p. 6–7.
  2. ↑ Ordine di Servizio Nr. 15 - 1949
  3. ↑ Ordine di Servizio Nr. 146 - 1916
  4. ↑ Ordine di Servizio Nr. 69 - 1947
  5. ↑ Prospetto cronologico dei tratti di ferrovia aperti all'esercizio dal 1839 al 31 dicembre 1926
  6. ↑ Part of Bologna–Ancona railway.
  7. ↑ Ministero del commercio e dei Lavori Pubblici, Ragguaglio di quanto è stato operato dal 1859 al 1863 (railways section), Rome, Tipografia della Reverenda Camera Apostolica, 1864.

Bibliography

External links

Media related to Ancona–Orte railway at Wikimedia Commons