Milan–Venice railway

Rezzato station

The Milan–Venice railway line is one of the most important railway lines in Italy. It connects the major city of Milan, in Lombardy, with the Adriatic Sea at Venice, in Veneto. The line is state-owned and operated by the state rail infrastructure company, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana that classifies it as a trunk line.^[1] The line is electrified at 3,000 volts DC.

History

Legend 0.000 Milano Centrale (From the left: "Genoa" and "Bologna" lines) To Turin and Chiasso) Ring line (from Milano Certosa and Greco Pirelli) 3.798 Milano Lambrate (To Genoa and Bologna) Ring line (to Milano San Cristoforo) (From the left: "Venice DD", "Venice LL", "Goods" lines) Milano Lambrate Scalo goods yard (Passante line from Milano Certosa and Milano Bovisa) 6.240 Lambro junction (staggered junction) Ring line (from Milano Rogoredo) Milan ring road east 0.000 Milano Smistamento marshalling yard 9.907 Segrate 12.407 Pioltello-Limito 16.200 Vignate 18.750 Melzo goods yard 19.600 Melzo (From the left: "Venice DD", "Venice LL" lines) 22.610 Pozzuolo Martesana * 14-06-2009 24.585 Trecella 27.152 Cassano d'Adda Adda River (Milan–Verona high-speed line, under construction) 29.200 Adda Junction P.M.[2] 30.020 31.680 Bergamo junction † 21-06-09 32.932 Treviglio Ovest (To Bergamo) (Left: disused line connecting Cremona with Treviglio Ovest) (33.063) 33.143 Treviglio (To Cremona) 37.146 Vidalengo 42.117 Morengo–Bariano Serio River 46.052 Romano 53.018 Calcio Oglio River 59.778 Chiari (From Lecco) 65.827 Rovato (RFI) / Rovato Borgo (FN) (From Iseo) (To Cremona, disused) 65.827 Ospitaletto-Travagliato Autostrada A4 Mella River 79.797 Mella junction (From the left: "Goods", "Passenger" lines) 80.471 Brescia goods yard (From Edolo) 82.842 Brescia Ronchi junction (To Parma and Cremona) 84.000 (Boundary of Milan and Verona provinces) 91.416 Rezzato (RFI) / Rezzato FRV (To Vobarno, disused) 99.950 Ponte San Marco-Calcinato 106.388 Lonato 110.738 Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione Desenzano Porto (Lake Garda) (To Desenzano Porto, disused) San Martino della Battaglia (disused) Mincio River (From Mantua) Peschiera Darsena (Lake Garda) 124.940 Peschiera FMP / Peschiera del Garda (RFI) 129.663 Castelnuovo del Garda 136.583 Sommacampagna–Sona Lugagnano (disused) Autostrada A22 Quadrante Europa 144.236 Fenilone junction (from Quadrante Europa) 144.236 Fenilone junction (to St Lucia and St Massimo junctions) (Brenner railway) (From the left: connections, overpass, San Massimo junction/P.C.[3]) Santa Lucia Junction/P.C. (To Mantua and Modena) (To Rovigo and Bologna) (From Santa Lucia and San Massimo junctions) 147.480 Verona Porta Nuova Adige River 150.857 Verona Porta Vescovo 156.864 San Martino Buon Albergo Autostrada A4 163.225 Caldiero 171.571 San Bonifacio (From Lonigo Città, disused) 177.305 Lonigo 182.952 Montebello Autostrada A4 191.471 Altavilla-Tavernelle (FTV tramway to Montecchio and le Valli, disused) 199.138 Vicenza (RFI) / Vicenza FTV (FTV tramway to Noventa and Montagnana, disused) (To Schio and Treviso) 200.857 (Boundary of Verona and Venice provinces) Autostrada A31 207.191 Lerino (From Ostiglia, disused) 214.068 Grisignano di Zocco (To Treviso, disused) Autostrada A4 219.928 Mestrino 0.000/227.446 Montà points (former Montà junctions) (to Padova Campo Marte) 2.190 Padova Campo Marte (From the left: from Bologna; from Bassano del Grappa and Calalzo) 229.408 Padua (From the left: old line; high-speed line) 0.000/230.618 (to Padova Interporto goods railway) 3.794 Padova Interporto Padova San Lazzaro (planned) Autostrada A4 234.843 Ponte di Brenta Brenta River Busa di Vigonza (disused) 240.790 Vigonza–Pianiga 244.897 Dolo 248.726 Mira–Mirano 252.040 Mirano junction (Mestre rail bypass, disused) Maerne overpass (from Trento) 254.389 Cabin B (from Adria) 256.490 Quadrivio Catene (old line to Trento) 256.500 Mestre Storica junctions (To Udine and Trieste) 0+000/257.907 Venezia Mestre 2.232 Venezia Marghera goods yard 260.191 Venezia Porto Marghera Venetian Lagoon Venezia Marittima 266.341 Venezia Santa Lucia

The line was designed by the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia to connect its two joint capitals and built by a company named the Imperiale Regia Privilege Strada ferrata Ferdinandea Lombardo-Veneta dell'Imperatore in honour of Ferdinand I of Austria. It was built in sections: the first section to be completed was between Padua and Marghera, opened on 13 December 1842, and was the third railway opened in Italy. On 13 January 1846 a 2 mi (3.2 km) long bridge over the Venetian Lagoon between Mestre and Venice was opened, with 222 arches supported on 80,000 larch piles.^[4] It was followed by the opening of the Padua–Vicenza section on 11 January 1846 and the Milan–Treviglio section on 15 February 1846.^[5]

The First Italian War of Independence slowed construction of other sections: the Vicenza–Verona Porta Vescovo stretch was inaugurated on 3 July 1849; it was extended across the Adige river to Verona Porta Nuova on 14 December 1852. An extension followed to Brescia and Bergamo via Coccaglio on 22 April 1854. The line was completed with the opening of the section between Bergamo to Treviglio on 12 October 1857, following the inauguration of the bridge over the Oglio at Palazzolo.^[5] The original route via Treviglio, Bergamo and Brescia was 285 km long. The direct between Rovato and Treviglio, bypassing Bergamo was opened on 5 March 1878, and the line took its current form.^[6]

In 1852 the original operating company was taken over by the state, but it was privatised in 1856, being sold to the Rothschild banking family of France for 156.25 million gold francs to form the Societé IR Privilégiée des Chemins de Fer Lombards-Vénitiens et de l'Italie Centrale, with a concession to complete the Milan–Venice line and to extend it to Trieste (the Venice–Trieste line) and to build branches to Lake Maggiore (the beginning of the Milan-Domodossola line), Como (the Milan–Chiasso line), Pavia (the beginning of the Milan–Genoa line), Piacenza (the beginning of the Milan–Bologna line) and to Mantua and Borgoforte (the beginning of the Verona–Mantua–Modena line). The Rothschild's rail interests were collectively referred to as the Südbahn.^[7] With the transfer of Veneto to Italy as a result of the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866, the Milan–Venice railway became part of the Società per le strade ferrate dell'Alta Italia (Upper Italian Railways). In 1885 it became part of the Rete Adriatica (Adriatic Network) and in 1905 it was absorbed into Ferrovie dello Stato on its foundation.

Electrification at 3000 volts DC was completed in 1956.^[8]

The current line

The railway is 267 kilometres (166 mi) long double track and fully electrified. The most important cities passed are Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, Padua and Mestre: these are also the key interchange points with other public transport services. The line has four tracks between Milan Lambrate and Treviglio and between Padua and Venezia Mestre, including high-speed lines on those sections. The high speed pair of lines is referred to as DD (derived from "direttissima"—literally most direct—an Italian word for high-speed railway) and the other pair is referred to as the Linea Lenta (meaning "slow line", abbreviated LL). Work has commenced on the construction of a high-speed line between Treviglio and Brescia and planning for its extension from Brescia to Padua is under way.

The line is served by Trenitalia regional trains between Milan and Verona and between Verona and Venice. The section from Pioltello to the Milan Cintura (belt) line is also served by trains of the S5 (and, in the future, S6) line of the Milan Suburban Railway Network. The Padua–Venice section is also used by the lines of the Metropolitan Regional Rail System of the Veneto region. Long distance passenger traffic is served by Trenitalia Eurostar and Cisalpino trains. The railway is also used by freight trains operated by several railway companies.

Notes

1. ^ "Rete FS in Esercizio (FS operating network)" (in Italian) (PDF). Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. http://www.rfi.it/cms-file/allegati/rfi/rete_esercizio.pdf. Retrieved 30 March 2009. 
2. ^ "Posto di movimento"—that is, a crossover allowing trains to change tracks.
3. ^ "Posti di comunicazione", that is a turnout to a connecting line.
4. ^ Kalla-Bishop 1971, p. 20
5. ^ ^{a b} "Chronological overview of the opening of railway lines from 1839 to 31 December 1926" (in Italian). Trenidicarta.it. http://www.trenidicarta.it/aperture.html. Retrieved 21 January 2010. 
6. ^ Ganzerla 2004
7. ^ Kalla-Bishop 1971, pp. 20–1
8. ^ Kalla-Bishop 1971, p. 116

References

• Kalla-Bishop, P. M. (1971), Italian Railways, Newton Abbott, Devon, England: David & Charles, pp. 208 
• Ganzerla, Giancarlo (2004) (in Italian), Binari sul Garda—Dalla Ferdinandea al tram: tra cronaca e storia, Brescia: Grafo, pp. 334, ISBN 8873856330