The Rome-Fiuggi railway is a former railway built on the east part of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It consisted of a 78.1 kilometres (48.5 mi) long narrow gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

  line from Rome to Fiuggi

Fiuggi

Fiuggi is a comune in the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio in central Italy.-History:Fiuggi, originally called Anticoli di Campagna, gained fame as early as the 14th century, when Pope Boniface VIII claimed his kidney stones had been healed by the mineral waters from the nearby Fiuggi...

.

History

On March, 1907 the Superior Council of Public Works gave its fiat to build the line, which had been designed by Antonio Clementi.

Works were started in 1913 by the "Società per le Ferrovie Vicinali" (SFV), and the first section of the railway was opened for service on 12 June 1916, from Rome to San Cesareo

San Cesareo

San Cesareo is a town and comune in the province of Rome. In ancient times, it was on the Via Labicana or Via Latina, 18 miles from Rome....

 and Genazzano

Genazzano

Genazzano is a town and comune in the province of Rome, located on a tuff spur at 375 m over the sea level which, starting from the Monti Prenestini, ends on the Sacco River valley.-History:...

, together with a branch line from San Cesareo to Frascati

Frascati

Frascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific...

. The railway used a narrow gauge of , with electric traction and high-voltage direct current

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 (850 V). In Rome, an SFV Station was constructed besides Roma Termini station, on the Esquiline Hill

Esquiline Hill

The Esquiline Hill is one of the celebrated Seven Hills of Rome. Its southern-most cusp is the Oppius .-Etymology:The origin of the name Esquilino is still under much debate. One view is that the Hill was named after the abundance of holm-oaks, exculi, that resided there...

 side.

At the start of services, trains were first

First class travel

First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...

 and third class, with four couples of trains a day. However, services increased over the years. On 6 May 1916 the branch line Genazzano-Fiuggi was opened for service. From Rome to Fiuggi trips lasted two hours and 45 minutes, but service was frequent, with a train departing every half hour.

The Fiuggi-Alatri-Frosinone and Fiuggi-Vico nel Lazio

Vico nel Lazio

Vico nel Lazio is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 70 km east of Rome and about 15 km north of Frosinone....

-Guarcino

Guarcino

Guarcino is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about 70 km east of Rome and about 20 km north of Frosinone in the Monti Ernici area.-History:...

 branch lines were opened for service on 14 July 1917. In 1943-1944 the Roma-Fiuggi railway was partly destroyed by Allied bombing

Italian Campaign (World War II)

The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...

. In 1945 the line was reopened.

In 1982 the branch line Genazzano-Fiuggi was closed, followed in 1983 by the line Pantano-Genazzano.

The route today

Until 2008 18.4 kilometres (11.4 mi) of the railway was in service as Rome's urban service from Roma Laziali station (which is connected to Roma Termini

Roma Termini railway station

Roma Termini is the main train station of Rome. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian , which lie across the street from the main entrance.-Overview:The station has regular train services to all major Italian cities as well...

 station) to Pantano. This railway now terminates at Giardinetti, while the section Giardinetti Pantano is rebuild for Metro line C

Line C (Rome Metro)

Line C will be the third line of the metro system of Rome, Italy. It will be the first fully automated line in the city.The line is currently under construction, and the first part is scheduled to open by June 2012...

, which is currently under construction.

Museum

There is a museum at the place Colonna.

• La Ferrovia-Museo della Stazione di Colonna

Sources

• M. Panconesi "Le ferrovie di Pio IX" ed. Calosci-Cortona 2005 - ISBN 88-7785-206-2