Alessandria–Piacenza railway

Alessandria–Piacenza railway
Map of the railway
Overview
Native name	Ferrovia Alessandria–Piacenza
Status	Operational
Line number	33
Service
Operator(s)	Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
History
Commenced	16 January 1856
Opened	25 January 1858
Completed	1860
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	3 kV direct current
Route map Legend km elev from Turin and from Novara 0.000 Alessandria to , and Bormida to Genoa 7.568 13.776 20.090 ex Tortona junction A7 – E62 (closed 1933) Scrivia from Genoa 21.915 link to S.A. Tramvie a Vapore della Provincia di Alessandria (closed 1934) and (closed 1933) 30.663 Curone Piemonte Lombardy border 38.118 / Voghera (RFI) FS–FAA link to Milan Staffora (closed 1966) Coppa 47.604 52.366 from Pavia 59.495 63.290 Versa 67.987 Lombardy Emilia-Romagna border 74.635 78.998 Tidone 83.603 88.121 Trebbia from Milan 96.513 / Piacenza (RFI) FS–SIFT link (closed 1967) to Cremona to Bologna km Source: Italian railway atlas[1] This diagram: view talk

Bridge over the Trebbia

The Alessandria–Piacenza railway is a railway located in northern Italy connecting the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Piedmont. The railway is 96 kilometres (60 mi) long and it is managed by RFI.^[2] It links the rail hub of Alessandria with that of Piacenza, passing through the cities of Tortona, Voghera, and Stradella.

History[]

The works for the construction of the railway began on 16 January 1856: the initial project included the section between Alessandria and Stradella, as well as a branch from Tortona to Novi Ligure.^[3] In June 1858 a decree was approved by the Chamber for the Facilitazione per l'unione della Società della ferrovia da Alessandria e Novi a Stradella con quella di Piacenza (Facilitation of the union of the railway company from Alessandria and Novi to Stradella with that of Piacenza)^[4] In 1859, the territory of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza were incorporated into the United Provinces of Central Italy and subsequently annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia as a result of the plebiscite of 12 March 1860. Following the annexation, the railway was extended to Piacenza.

The first section, between Alessandria and Casteggio was opened on 25 January 1858. The section was opened to Stradella in the following July, while the Piacenza sections of the line were opened between 1859 and 1860, the last of which, between the bridge over the Trebbia river and Piacenza, was opened to traffic on 19 January 1860.^[5]

Starting from 1 July 1905, under law no.137 of 22 April 1905, the operation of the railway line was taken over by the Italian state, through the newly established Azienda autonoma per l'esercizio delle Ferrovie Italiane (Ferrovie dello Stato), under the control of the Ministry of Public Works.

A crash occurred at Voghera on the night of 31 May 1962, when a freight train from Milan hit the end of a passenger train that was stationary on platform 3 and about to leave for Genoa. 64 people lost their lives, and 40 were seriously injured, 4 of whom later died in hospital bringing the death toll to 64.^[6]

Characteristics[]

The railway has a gauge of 1435 mm. It is electrified at 3000V, and it can bear a weight of 22.5 tons per axis.^[2]

References[]

Footnotes[]

Sources[]

• RFI, ed. (December 2003). Fascicolo Linea 33 (in Italian). Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
• Tuzza, Alessandro, ed. (1927). "Prospetto cronologico dei tratti di ferrovia aperti all'esercizio dal 1839 al 31 dicembre 1926" (in Italian). Ufficio Centrale di Statistica delle Ferrovie dello Stato/Trenidicarta.it. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
• Atlante ferroviario d'Italia e Slovenia [Railway atlas of Italy and Slovenia]. Schweers + Wall. 2010. ISBN 978-3-89494-129-1.