Trento–Venice railway

The Trento–Venice railway is an Italian state-owned railway line connecting Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige, to Mestre, a suburb of Venice, in the Veneto region. At Mestre, it connects to the main line from Verona.

Trento–Venice railway
Viaduct of the railway in Trento.
Overview
Other name(s)Valsugana railway
StatusActive
OwnerRFI, kkStB (historic)
LocaleItaly
Termini
Stations36
Service
TypeLight rail, light metro
Operator(s)Trenitalia, Trentino Trasporti
History
Commenced1896 (1896)
Opened1910 (1910)
Technical
Line length157 km (98 mi)
Number of trackssingle track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification3000 V DC
(Bassano del Grappa-Mestre)
Operating speed55–140 km/h (34–87 mph)
SignallingSCMT
Train protection systemSSC
Highest elevation474 m (1,555 ft)
Route map

km
146.994
Trento (FS) / Trento FTM
193 m
143.534
Trento Santa Chiara
(opened 2006)
142.815
Trento San Bartolameo
(opened 2007)
140.598
Villazzano
280 m
138.147
Povo-Mesiano
(opened 1995[1])
Roncogno
421 m
129.543
Pergine
468 m
126.810
San Cristoforo al Lago-Ischia
454 m
122.669
Calceranica
452 m
120.233
Caldonazzo
467 m
116.845
Levico Terme
455 m
Barco
435 m
Novaledo
(closed 1961[2])
108.025
Roncegno Bagni-Marter
416 m
103.301
Borgo Valsugana Centro
390 m
102.450
Borgo Valsugana Est
Castelnuovo
351 m
98.409
Strigno
349 m
95.466
Ospedaletto
306 m
88.805
Grigno
252 m
87.873
high point of line
83.819
Tezze di Grigno
230 m
80.002
Primolano
218 m
once planned link to Feltre
73.747
Cismon del Grappa
194 m
69.509
San Marino
180 m
64.489
Carpanè-Valstagna
156 m
60.992
San Nazario
143 m
57.493
Solagna
138 m
56.059
Pove del Grappa-Campese
(closed 1951[3])
136 m
military railway from Crespano
51.283
Bassano del Grappa
(start of electrification)
149 m
45.401
Cassola
94 m
37.376
Castello di Godego
53 m
32.135
Castelfranco Veneto
40 m
27.286
Resana
32 m
23.312
Piombino Dese
26 m
18.879
Trebaseleghe
(opened 2005[4])
14.837
Noale-Scorzè
16 m
11.316
Salzano-Robegano
13 m
(7.499)
10.492
Maerne di Martellago
(start of double track)
8 m
(5.520)
Orgnano double junction
7.016 (4.477)
Left arrowLeft arrowSpinea junction/PC
Left arrowValsugana level crossing
Left arrowdeviation opened 2008
(4.485)
Venezia Asseggiano
(closed 2008)
6.809
Spinea
(opened 2008)
-.--- (1.417)
Maerne ramp
3.518
Catene junction
(0.967)
0.000
257.907
Venezia Mestre
4 m
Venezia Marghera goods yard
260.191
Venezia Porto Marghera
4 m
Ponte della Libertà
Venezia Marittima
266.341
Venezia Santa Lucia
4 m
km
Source: Italian railway atlas[5]

The line is managed by RFI, a company of the Ferrovie dello Stato group. Passenger traffic is run by Trenitalia, which also runs regional trains ordered by the Veneto region; in the province of Trento, Trentino Trasporti fulfills this role (line 401).

History

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Railway lines had been built from Trento, in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, in 1859 southwards to Verona, and in 1867 northwards to Bolzano and the Brenner pass; today these form the Brenner Railway, the main railway connection between Italy and Austria. On the Italian side a line was built from Bassano del Grappa to Padua in 1877, and an extension to the Italian-Austrian border at Primolano was studied. However, when the Veneto joined the Kingdom of Italy, a new border was established at Tezze di Grigno, and hence the Austrians constructed a railway from Trento to Tezze in 1896, where it joined the Italian Valsugana railway line.[6]

On the Italian side, the line from Mestre via Primolano to the border was built between 1906 and 1910, with the first part, to Bassano del Grappa, opening in 1908, and a second to Carpanè Valstagna the following year. Primolano now became an international border station,[7] though only for a few years, as Trentino-Alto Adige became part of Italy after the First World War.

The line was electrified in the 1980s from Castelfranco Veneto to Venezia Mestre, and in 2003 from Castelfranco Veneto to Bassano del Grappa. Other improvements in the 2000s included a so-called 'light surface metro' - a half-hourly local train service which also services a series of new suburban stations in the Trento region. For this service, new trains of the Minuetto type were bought by Trentino Trasporti in order to replace the old FS Class ALn 668. A similar suburban service might be installed between Mestre and Castelfranco Veneto, but track improvements necessary for such a service are rendered difficult by the Padua-Venice section of the Verona–Venice high-speed railway.

Characteristics

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The 157-kilometre long (98 mi) railway line is single track all the way from Trento to Maerne di Martellago, near Mestre, where it becomes double track for the last 10 km. All of it is standard gauge, and the line is electrified at 3000 V from Mestre to Bassano del Grappa, where the maximum speed is 120–140 km/h (75–87 mph). Beyond Bassano, maximum speeds are much lower, with an average grade of 10 per thousand, increasing to 22 per thousand beyond Primolano; the steepest section is between Trento and Villazzano shich is also the slowest section with 55 km/h (34 mph). The section between Trento and Primolano will be also electrified at 3000 V to improve the light metro services in Trentino. Trains take about 3.5 hours to cover the complete distance, for an average speed of below 50 km/h.

Services

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Regional railway services are offered by Trenitalia and Trentino Trasporti from Trento to Bassano del Grappa (hourly), and from Bassano del Grappa to Venice Santa Lucia (hourly, since 2013). Additionally, hourly 'light surface metro' (metropolitana leggera di superficie) services are offered in peak hours between Borgo Valsugana East and Trento and between Castelfranco Veneto East and Venice.

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See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Nuova fermata". I Treni (in Italian). XVI (165). Salò: Editrice Trasporti su Rotaie: 6. November 1995. ISSN 0392-4602.
  2. ^ "unknown". Ordine di Servizio (in Italian) (51). 1961. {{cite journal}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  3. ^ "unknown". Ordine di Servizio (in Italian) (38). 1951. {{cite journal}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  4. ^ "Impianti FS". I Treni (in Italian). XXV (274): 7. October 2005. ISSN 0392-4602.
  5. ^ Railway Atlas 2017, pp. 9, 24, 25, 137, 138.
  6. ^ Facchinelli, Laura (1992). "La ferrovia della Valsugana". Linea Treno (5).
  7. ^ Prospetto cronologico 1926.

Bibliography

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