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 km elev from Turin and from Novara 0.000 Alessandria to Cavallermaggiore, San Giuseppe di Cairo and Ovada Bormida to Genoa 7.568 Spinetta 13.776 San Giuliano Piemonte from Novi Ligure 20.090 ex Tortona junction A7 – E62 tramway from Sale (closed 1933) Scrivia from Genoa 21.915 Tortona link to S.A. Tramvie a Vapore della Provincia di Alessandria tramway to Monleale (closed 1934) and line to Castelnuovo Scrivia (closed 1933) 30.663 Pontecurone Curone Piemonte Lombardy border 38.118 Voghera (FAA) / Voghera (RFI) FS–FAA link to Milan Staffora FAA line to Varzi (closed 1966) Coppa 47.604 Casteggio 52.366 Santa Giuletta from Pavia 59.495 Broni 63.290 Stradella Versa 67.987 Arena Po Lombardy Emilia-Romagna border 74.635 Castel San Giovanni 78.998 Sarmato Tidone 83.603 Rottofreno 88.121 San Nicolò Trebbia from Milan 96.513 Piacenza (SIFT) / Piacenza (RFI) FS–SIFT link SIFT line from Bettola (closed 1967) to Cremona to Bologna km Source: Italian railway atlas[1]

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