Battipaglia–Metaponto railway

The Battipaglia–Metaponto railway is an Italian 198-kilometre (123-mile) long railway line, that connects Rome, Naples and Battipaglia with Potenza, Metaponto and Taranto. It is a commonly used trans-apennine linkage.

Battipaglia–Metaponto railway
Overview
Statusin use
OwnerRFI
Line number124
LocaleItaly
Termini
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s)Trenitalia
History
OpenedIn stages between 1863 (1863) and 1880 (1880)
Technical
Line length198 km (123 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationElectrified at 3000 V DC
Route map

km
from Salerno
to Reggio Calabria
to Lagonegro
to Foggia
from Matera
from Reggio Calabria
to Taranto
km
Source: Italian railway atlas[1]

History

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The line was opened in stages between 1863 and 1880.[2]

Date Section
14 June 1863 Battipaglia - Eboli
1 December 1874 Eboli- Contursi
15 June 1875 Metaponto - Pisticci
30 September 1875 Contursi–Romagnano
15 November 1875 Pisticci–Ferrandina
10 April 1876 Ferrandina–Grassano
3 June 1877 Romagnano–Balvano
1 August 1877 Grassano–Calciano
6 November 1877 Balvano–Baragiano
15 January 1880 Baragiano–Picerno
1 September 1880 Picerno–Potenza
27 December 1880 Potenza–Calciano

In 1944 the deadliest accident in Italian railway history, the 8017 convoy Battipaglia-Potenza, happened on this line with over 500 victims.

Upgrades

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Between 1986 and 1993 the railway was closed to allow for major works to upgrade the line, during which it was electrified. Electric trains however did not start using the line until 31 March 1994.[3] In 1995 a service was launched using Eurostar ETR 450.

Usage

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The line is used by the following service(s):

  • Intercity services Rome - Naples - Salerno - Potenza - Taranto
  • Regional services (Treno regionale) Naples - Salerno - Potenza - Metaponto - Taranto

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Railway Atlas 2017, pp. 83–85.
  2. ^ Prospetto cronologico 1927.
  3. ^ I treni, n. 167, January 1996.

Sources

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  • RFI, ed. (December 2003). Fascicolo Linea 124 (Battipaglia–Metaponto) (in Italian). Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
  • Tuzza, Alessandro, ed. (1927). "Prospetto cronologico dei tratti di ferrovia aperti all'esercizio dal 1839 al 31 dicembre 1926" (in Italian). Ufficio Centrale di Statistica delle Ferrovie dello Stato/Trenidicarta.it. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  • Atlante ferroviario d'Italia e Slovenia [Railway atlas of Italy and Slovenia]. Schweers + Wall. 2010. ISBN 978-3-89494-129-1.

See also

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