Piacenza railway station
Encyclopedia
Piacenza railway station serves the city and comune
of Piacenza
, in the region
of Emilia-Romagna
, northern Italy
. Opened in 1859, it forms part of the Milan–Bologna railway, and is also a terminus of two secondary railways, linking Piacenza with Alessandria and Cremona, 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.
, at the eastern edge of the city centre.
bridge and Piacenza.
The station remained solely a terminal station
only until 14 November 1861, when the rest of the line between Bologna and Milan came into operation.
In 1932, the station became a terminus of another secondary line, the newly opened Piacenza–Bettola railway. The following year, 1933, yet another secondary line, the Piacenza–Cremona railway, commenced operations with Piacenza as one of its termini.
The line to Bettola was closed in 1967. However, the line to Cremona has remained open, apart from a short period in the late 1940s, following the destruction of World War II
.
On 12 January 1997, an ETR 460
Pendolino
train derailed about outside the station, due to the rupture of the universal joint that connects the traction motor
s to the wheels. The accident caused eight fatalities, and much damage to the line. On board the train was the then President of Italy, Francesco Cossiga
, who, by chance, remained unharmed. Although his assigned seat was in the carriage at the front of the train (in which the deceased victims were travelling), the President was travelling, at the time of the accident, in the dining car. Today, a plaque at the station commemorates the victims of the accident.
In May 2006, work was completed on renovations to the station. The renovation project, financed by RFI and Centostazioni, cost about € 200,000. The work was mainly concerned with the passenger building: the construction of a suspended ceiling, the installation of a new lighting system, a broadening of opportunities for commercial services and adaption of technological systems to comply with legal requirements.
, who later built many stations during the post-war era. The structure consists of three sections, all of them rectangular in shape.
The main, central, section is on three levels, of which only the ground floor is accessible to travelers. At the front of this section are three large arches that reach the upper levels. These arches are flanked on each side by two smaller arches.
Further away from each side of the central section is a two level wing section, with two entrances on each side. These sections are symmetrical, and each is connected with the central structure by another two level section, with five arches.
The station yard has eight tracks dedicated to passenger service. All the tracks have a platform sheltered by a canopy and connected with the other platforms by a pedestrian underpass.
Piacenza has a goods yard consisting of 13 tracks, numbered 9 to 22. The goods yard is equipped with a goods shed
that is still active. Some abandoned tracks in the goods yard will be dismantled to make way for the mini-Piacenza highway under construction north of the town. The highway will connect the southern part of the city, via Diete di Roncaglia, with central Milan, and from there with the bridge over the Po river.
The passenger trains calling at the station are regional
, express, InterCity
, InterCity Night
and Eurostar City
services, and a daily pair of high speed trains.
A total of about 260 passenger trains serve the station each day. Their main destinations are Bologna Centrale, Turin
and Rimini
.
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 Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, in the 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....
of Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
. Opened in 1859, it forms part of the Milan–Bologna railway, and is also a terminus of two secondary railways, linking Piacenza with Alessandria and Cremona, 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
Station building
A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger train station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers.A station building is not to be confused with the station itself...
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.
Location
Piacenza railway station is situated at Piazzale Guglielmo MarconiGuglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
, at the eastern edge of the city centre.
History
The station entered service on 21 July 1859, together with the rest of the Bologna–Piacenza section of the Milan–Bologna railway. On 19 January 1860, it became the terminus of another line, the Alessandria–Piacenza railway, upon the completion of the final section of that line, between TrebbiaTrebbia
The Trebbia is a river predominantly of Liguria and Emilia Romagna in northern Italy. It is one of the four main right-bank tributaries of the river Po, the other three being the Tanaro, the Secchia and the Panaro...
bridge and Piacenza.
The station remained solely a terminal station
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
only until 14 November 1861, when the rest of the line between Bologna and Milan came into operation.
In 1932, the station became a terminus of another secondary line, the newly opened Piacenza–Bettola railway. The following year, 1933, yet another secondary line, the Piacenza–Cremona railway, commenced operations with Piacenza as one of its termini.
The line to Bettola was closed in 1967. However, the line to Cremona has remained open, apart from a short period in the late 1940s, following the destruction of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
On 12 January 1997, an ETR 460
ETR 460
The ETR 460 is a tilting EMU built by FIAT Ferroviaria beginning from 1993, also known as Pendolino.ETR 460 was an improved development of ETR 450, a Pendolino EMU developed in the 1970s, being characterized by improved layout, electrical and electronic systems, and a better comfort. Maximum speed...
Pendolino
Pendolino
Pendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
train derailed about outside the station, due to the rupture of the universal joint that connects the traction motor
Traction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....
s to the wheels. The accident caused eight fatalities, and much damage to the line. On board the train was the then President of Italy, Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....
, who, by chance, remained unharmed. Although his assigned seat was in the carriage at the front of the train (in which the deceased victims were travelling), the President was travelling, at the time of the accident, in the dining car. Today, a plaque at the station commemorates the victims of the accident.
In May 2006, work was completed on renovations to the station. The renovation project, financed by RFI and Centostazioni, cost about € 200,000. The work was mainly concerned with the passenger building: the construction of a suspended ceiling, the installation of a new lighting system, a broadening of opportunities for commercial services and adaption of technological systems to comply with legal requirements.
Features
The passenger building was built in 1937, as a project of the architect Roberto NarducciRoberto Narducci
Roberto Narducci was an Italian architect and engineer of the Modernist and Novocento movements.-Life:...
, who later built many stations during the post-war era. The structure consists of three sections, all of them rectangular in shape.
The main, central, section is on three levels, of which only the ground floor is accessible to travelers. At the front of this section are three large arches that reach the upper levels. These arches are flanked on each side by two smaller arches.
Further away from each side of the central section is a two level wing section, with two entrances on each side. These sections are symmetrical, and each is connected with the central structure by another two level section, with five arches.
The station yard has eight tracks dedicated to passenger service. All the tracks have a platform sheltered by a canopy and connected with the other platforms by a pedestrian underpass.
Piacenza has a goods yard consisting of 13 tracks, numbered 9 to 22. The goods yard is equipped with a goods shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
that is still active. Some abandoned tracks in the goods yard will be dismantled to make way for the mini-Piacenza highway under construction north of the town. The highway will connect the southern part of the city, via Diete di Roncaglia, with central Milan, and from there with the bridge over the Po river.
Passenger and train movements
Passenger services
The station has about 5 million passenger movements each year.The passenger trains calling at the station are 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...
, express, InterCity
InterCity
InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...
, InterCity Night
InterCity
InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...
and Eurostar City
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....
services, and a daily pair of high speed trains.
A total of about 260 passenger trains serve the station each day. Their main destinations are Bologna Centrale, 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...
and Rimini
Rimini railway station
Rimini railway station is the main station serving the city and comune of Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Opened in 1861, it forms part of the Bologna–Ancona railway, and is also a terminus of a secondary railway linking Rimini with Ravenna and Modena.The station is...
.
Goods traffic
In addition to Trenitalia, the operators of goods services to and from the station are Linea, Crossrail and GTS, which send frequent trains of container wagons to the nearby logistics hub.See also
- History of rail transport in Italy
- List of railway stations in Emilia-Romagna
- 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:...