ITALY: Services have restarted on the 950 mm gauge Catanzaro suburban railway following a closure for modernisation including partial realignment and double-tracking.
The 14 km route connects Catanzaro Città station in the old town to Catanzaro Lido on the coast, where interchange is provided to the Reggio Calabria – Sibari main line of national infrastructure manager RFI.
The service has been rebranded as Catanzaro Metropolitana, reflecting a more intensive urban style of operation. Ferrovie della Calabria will provide two overlapping services on the route, designated as lines A and B. Line A trains stop all stations, while Line B will offer a limited stop service. The regional operator is initially running 13 inbound and 12 outbound Line A trips a day, with Line B trains expected to start soon.
All services are operated by FdC’s two-car diesel multiple-units, which were built by Stadler and put into operation from December 2009.
New alignment
The upgrading project was announced in 2007, although it was not until 2017 that some works began. Services were suspended completely in April 2022 to facilitate the comprehensive modernisation of the infrastructure. This included complete reconstruction of the 8·5 km single-track section between Catanzaro Sala and Catanzaro Lido onto a straighter double-track alignment parallel to the existing formation, which was then converted into a cycle path.
The stations have been rebuilt, while new tunnels and bridges have been constructed. Road underpasses and ovebridges have been built to eliminate level crossings, and the signalling system has also been replaced.
Vianini Lavori was lead contractor for the €180m programme, of which €145m was financed by the European Union.
Line C
Work is currently underway to construct a new Line C, which is due to be completed this year. The 6·2 km branch will diverge from the existing line at Sala and run to Germaneto, where interchange will be provided to Catanzaro station on the Lamezia Terme – Catanzaro Lido main line.
