Novara railway station
Encyclopedia
Novara railway station is the main station
serving the city and comune
of Novara
, in the Piedmont
region
, northwestern Italy
. Opened in 1854, it forms part of the Turin–Milan and Arona–Alessandria railways, and is also a junction station
for four other lines, to Biella, Varallo Siesa, Domodossola
and Luino, respectively.
The station is currently managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
(RFI). However, the commercial area of the passenger building is managed by Centostazioni
. Train services are operated by Trenitalia
. Each of these companies is a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato
(FS), Italy's state-owned rail company.
A second station, the Novara Nord railway station, is located a short distance away, and serves as the terminus of the Saronno–Novara railway, which is owned by FNM SpA
. That line is managed by FERROVIENORD
, and train services on it are operated by LeNORD
, each of those companies being a member of the FNM group.
The goods yard is distinctly separated from the passenger station and is linked to the incoming lines by two lines connected in a triangle, starting from one end of the passenger station. This allows the goods yard to receive goods trains without having to occupy sections of line reserved for passenger services. At the end of the goods yard is the Centro Intermodale Merci (CIM), built at the turn of the twenty first century, while along the track north of the triangle is the new Novara Nord railway station. Finally, the goods yard is linked with the Treno Alta Velocità
(TAV) by a couple of tracks that are bypassed by the FNM line to Novara Nord.
Trains stopping at Novara include EuroCity
, Eurostar Italia
, EuroNight
and regional
trains, along with line S6 on the Milan suburban rail service. The most important domestic destinations of these trains are Turin
, Milan and Venice
, but passengers also depart for and arrive from other domestic destinations, such as Genoa
, Biella
and Vercelli
. The main international links are with Paris and Barcelona
.
Many of the station's passenger movements are arrivals from neighboring cities, with a large presence of students in the morning. However, the predominant component is commuter traffic to Milan, and, to a lesser extent, Turin. This traffic leads to overflowing commuter trains, even though each of them is made up of twelve carriages. Combined with the many and repeated delays, the uncomfortable travelling conditions have led to numerous protest actions, with resonance at the national level.
Goods traffic, which is also significant, is characterized by the presence of the CIM and a related rolling highway
to northern Europe. Even the passage of goods trains in transit is not negligible.
Central station
A central station usually designates the principal passenger railway station of cities which have multiple stations. The central station functions as the main transport hub for rail transport, normally with interchange with other modes of public transport...
serving the city and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Novara
Novara
Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...
, in the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
region
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....
, northwestern Italy
Northwest Italy
Northwest Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency...
. Opened in 1854, it forms part of the Turin–Milan and Arona–Alessandria railways, and is also a junction station
Junction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
for four other lines, to Biella, Varallo Siesa, Domodossola
Domodossola railway station
Domodossola railway station serves the city and comune of Domodossola, in the Piedmont region, northwestern Italy. Opened in 1888, it forms a major break of gauge junction between standard gauge lines to Milan, Brig and Novara, and a metre gauge line to Locarno.The station is currently managed by...
and Luino, respectively.
The station is currently managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana is an Italian company fully owned by Ferrovie dello Stato . RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it sets train paths, provides signalling, provides maintenance and other services for the railway network...
(RFI). However, the commercial area of the passenger building is managed by Centostazioni
Centostazioni
' is a member company of Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato group. It was created to rehabilitate, develop and manage 103 medium sized Italian railway stations.-History:...
. Train services are operated by Trenitalia
Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. Trenitalia is owned by Ferrovie dello Stato, itself owned by the Italian Government. It was created in 2000 following the EU directive on the deregulation of rail transport.-Passenger transport:...
. Each of these companies is a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato
Ferrovie dello Stato
Ferrovie dello Stato is a government-owned holding which manage infrastructure and service on the Italian rail network. The subsidiary Trenitalia is the main rail operator in Italy.-Organization:Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries are:...
(FS), Italy's state-owned rail company.
A second station, the Novara Nord railway station, is located a short distance away, and serves as the terminus of the Saronno–Novara railway, which is owned by FNM SpA
Ferrovie Nord Milano
450px|thumb|Map of the main branch of the FNM lines. FNM operates also the [[Brescia]]-[[Edolo]] railway in eastern [[Lombardy]], not shown in map.Ferrovie Nord Milano is an Italian public transport company: the second largest railway company in Italy. It operates primarily in the northern Italian...
. That line is managed by FERROVIENORD
FERROVIENORD
' is an Italian transport company, part of the FNM Group, that manages the network of regional railway concessions owned by the group in northern Italy.-History:...
, and train services on it are operated by LeNORD
LeNORD
' is the subsidiary of the FNM Group responsible for operating passenger train services in northern Italy....
, each of those companies being a member of the FNM group.
Location
Novara railway station is situated at Piazza Garibaldi, at the northeastern edge of the city centre.History
The station was opened on 3 July 1854, upon the opening of the Novara–-Mortara portion of the Arona–Alessandria railway.Features
The passenger station is equipped with fifteen tracks and passing loops, of which thirteen (10 platform and three loops, and 2 north and 1 south) are numbered for passenger service. Track 1 and the tracks of the first three platforms (2-3, 4-4A-5, and 6-6A-6B-7) are served directly from the subway and have a roof, though not for its entire length. The last three tracks are accessible from the platform of the tracks 6 and 7 with a track level crossing. Tracks 3 and 4 serve the Turin–Milan railway, while other tracks are mostly used by trains on the other, terminating, lines.The goods yard is distinctly separated from the passenger station and is linked to the incoming lines by two lines connected in a triangle, starting from one end of the passenger station. This allows the goods yard to receive goods trains without having to occupy sections of line reserved for passenger services. At the end of the goods yard is the Centro Intermodale Merci (CIM), built at the turn of the twenty first century, while along the track north of the triangle is the new Novara Nord railway station. Finally, the goods yard is linked with the Treno Alta Velocità
Treno Alta Velocità
Treno Alta Velocità SpA is special purpose entity owned by RFI for the planning and construction of a high-speed network in Italy.-Purpose:...
(TAV) by a couple of tracks that are bypassed by the FNM line to Novara Nord.
Passenger and train movements
The station has about 9.4 million passenger movements each year, making it the seventh busiest Centostazioni station in terms of passenger movements. There are about 350 trains per day, including any Trenitalia train replacement buses.Trains stopping at Novara include EuroCity
EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated EC, denotes an international train service within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains with the "IC" label, "EC" trains are international trains that meet certain criteria. The EuroCity label replaces the older Trans Europ Express name for...
, Eurostar Italia
Eurostar Italia
Eurostar Italia is a network of Italian high-speed inter-city trains, operated by Trenitalia . Trenitalia states that there are 130 train journeys per day....
, EuroNight
EuroNight
EuroNight, abbreviated EN, denotes all main-line national and international night train services within the European inter-city rail network. Unlike the equivalent day-running counterparts EuroCity and InterCity trains, the EuroNight trains tend to run during the nighttime and are equipped with...
and regional
Regional rail
Commuter rail, also called suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates between a city center, and the middle to outer suburbs beyond 15km and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of commuters—people who travel on a daily basis...
trains, along with line S6 on the Milan suburban rail service. The most important domestic destinations of these trains are Turin
Torino Porta Nuova railway station
Torino Porta Nuova station is currently the main railway station of Turin. It is the third busiest station in Italy for passenger flow after Rome Termini and Milan Central, with about 192,000 journeys per day and 70 million travellers a year and a total of about 350 trains per day. It is...
, Milan and Venice
Venezia Santa Lucia railway station
Venezia Santa Lucia railway station is a terminal station serving the comune of Venice, Italy. It is also the only railway station in the historic city of Venice ....
, but passengers also depart for and arrive from other domestic destinations, such as Genoa
Genova Piazza Principe railway station
Genova Piazza Principe railway station is the central station of Genoa and is located on Piazza Acquaverde, occupying the entire north side of Via Andrea Doria—where the station entrance is located—in the town centre and a short distance from the Palazzo del Principe, from which it takes its name...
, Biella
Biella San Paolo railway station
Biella San Paolo railway station is the main station serving the town and comune of Biella, in the Piedmont region, northwestern Italy. Opened in 1856, it is the junction of the Biella–Novara and Santhià–Biella railways....
and Vercelli
Vercelli railway station
Vercelli railway station is the main station serving the city and comune of Vercelli, in the Piedmont region, northwestern Italy. Opened in 1856, it forms part of the Turin–Milan railway, and is also a junction station for two other lines, to Valenza and Pavia, respectively.The station is...
. The main international links are with Paris and Barcelona
Barcelona Estació de França
Estació de França is a major railway station in the city of Barcelona in Catalonia.Estació de França is the second busiest railway station of the city after Barcelona-Sants in terms of regional and long-distance ridership...
.
Many of the station's passenger movements are arrivals from neighboring cities, with a large presence of students in the morning. However, the predominant component is commuter traffic to Milan, and, to a lesser extent, Turin. This traffic leads to overflowing commuter trains, even though each of them is made up of twelve carriages. Combined with the many and repeated delays, the uncomfortable travelling conditions have led to numerous protest actions, with resonance at the national level.
Goods traffic, which is also significant, is characterized by the presence of the CIM and a related rolling highway
Rolling Highway
A rolling highway is a combined transport system to transport trucks by rail....
to northern Europe. Even the passage of goods trains in transit is not negligible.
Services
See also
- History of rail transport in Italy
- List of railway stations in Piedmont
- Rail transport in ItalyRail transport in ItalyThe Italian railway system is one of the most important infrastructure in the country, with a total length of . The network is recently growing with the construction of the new high speed rail network....
- Railway stations in ItalyRailway stations in ItalyRailway stations in Italy are maintained and operated by the RFI division of Ferrovie dello Stato Group. A minor part of them is operated by private and regional companies, conceded by the state.-Classification:...