Narrow-gauge railways in Italy

Most narrow-gauge railways in Italy were built with Italian metre gauge, which is actually 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in) because historically the Italian track gauge was defined from the centres of the rail instead of the internationally accepted method of measuring the gauge from the inside edges of the rails. Several metre-gauge lines were built in northern Italy.

Track gauge
By transport mode
Tram · Rapid transit
Miniature · Scale model
By size (list)
Minimum
  Fifteen inch 381 mm (15 in)
Narrow
  600 mm
Two foot		 600 mm
610 mm		 (1 ft ​11 5⁄8 in)
(2 ft)
  750 mm
Bosnian gauge
Two foot six inch		 750 mm
760 mm
762 mm		 (2 ft ​5 1⁄2 in)
2 ft ​5 15⁄16 in
(2 ft 6 in)
  Swedish three foot
900 mm
Three foot		 891 mm
900 mm
914 mm		 (2 ft ​11 3⁄32 in)
(2 ft ​11 7⁄16 in)
(3 ft)
  Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft ​3 3⁄8 in)
  Three foot six inch 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft ​8 1⁄2 in)
Broad
  Dresden gauge 1,450 mm (4 ft ​9 3⁄32 in)
  Leipzig gauge 1,458 mm (4 ft ​9 13⁄32 in)
  Toronto gauge 1,495 mm (4 ft ​10 7⁄8 in)
  1520 mm
Five foot		 1,520 mm
1,524 mm		 (4 ft ​11 7⁄8 in)
(5 ft)
  Pennsylvania gauge
Pennsylvania gauge
Five foot three inch		 1,581 mm
1,588 mm
1,600 mm		 (5 ft ​2 1⁄4 in)
(5 ft ​2 1⁄2 in)
(5 ft 3 in)
  Baltimore gauge 1,638 mm (5 ft ​4 1⁄2 in)
  Iberian gauge
Five foot six inch		 1,668 mm
1,676 mm		 (5 ft ​5 21⁄32 in)
(5 ft 6 in)
Change of gauge
Break-of-gauge · Dual gauge ·
Conversion (list) · Bogie exchange · Variable gauge
By location

North America · South America · Europe · Australia
A Naples Circumvesuviana train arrives at Pompei-Scavi in 2004

123 km 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge (123 km electrified); 1,290 km 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in) gauge (151 km electrified); 231 km 850 mm (2 ft 9 15⁄32 in) gauge (2008)[1]

1200 mm gauge

1,200 mm (3 ft 11 1⁄4 in) narrow-gauge railways in Italy are:

1100 mm gauge

The temporary Mont Cenis Railway (1868–1871) was 1,100 mm (3 ft 7 5⁄16 in) gauge.

Metre-gauge lines (1000 mm)
Railcar on the Rittnerbahn/Ferrovia del Renon

Italian metre-gauge lines (950 mm)

Most in Southern Italy

Calabria

In Calabria there is the Catanzaro Lido–Catanzaro–Cosenza line, with a branch to Camigliatello Silano, and two lines from Gioia Tauro. All are owned by Ferrovie della Calabria.

Naples area

Rome

The Rome–Fiuggi railway is a former railway built on the east part of Rome, Italy. It consisted of a 78.1 kilometers (48.5 mi) long narrow-gauge 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in) line from Rome to Fiuggi.

Sardinia

In Sardinia, a network of narrow-gauge lines (950 mm / 3 ft 1 3⁄8 in) was built, to complement the standard-gauge main network which covered the main cities and ports. The lines were:

Of the lines which are still present, only

still carry regular passenger services, operated by Ferrovie della Sardegna (Railways of Sardinia). The others only operate a scenic tourist service known as Trenino Verde (little green train) In Sassari, the Sassari Tram-train links the railway station with the city centre.

Sicily

In Sicily, the Ferrovia Circumetnea railway runs around the Mount Etna. Other 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in) narrow-gauge lines of Ferrovie dello Stato operated, but are now closed. The last of which was the Castelvetrano–Porto Empedocle, closed in 1985.

South-eastern Italy

In the Apulia and Basilicata regions, there are some railway lines connecting Bari, Potenza, Matera, and Avigliano. These are operated by Ferrovie Apulo Lucane.

850 mm gauge line

Bosnian-gauge lines (760 mm)

Decauville gauge (600 mm)

In South Tyrol there are two tourist lines using 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) gauge trains.

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See also

References

Notes
  1. CIA World Fact Book

Bibliography
  • Organ, John (2012). Italy Narrow Gauge: The Dolomites to Calabria. Narrow Gauge Branch Lines series. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781908174178.
  • Organ, John (2013). Sardinia and Sicily Narrow Gauge: Scenic Rail Journeys on the Italian Islands. Narrow Gauge Branch Lines series. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781908174505.

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