Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE) is a

railway company A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an rail transport operations, operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation ...

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

region,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The company operates in the ''

comuni The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' south of

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

and in the provinces of

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

and

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

. The company also operates bus lines. In August 2016 its network was taken over by

Ferrovie dello stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. ( "Italian Railways of the State"; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the abbreviation FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estat ...

due to financial problems at the company. The company is now wholly owned by the Italian Transport Ministry.

Geography

The interior of Salento is a relatively flat plateau, which, however, slopes steeply down to the coasts of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

and the

Gulf of Taranto The Gulf of Taranto ( it, Golfo di Taranto; Tarantino: ; la, Sinus Tarentinus) is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in Southern Italy. The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, long and wide, making it the largest gulf in Italy, and it is delimited by the ...

. The coast itself was very marshy, malarial and uninhabitable. Except for a few port cities, such as

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

and

, all settlements are therefore located inland. Thus, the FSE routes only lead to the sea in the seaports mentioned and otherwise run in the interior of Apulia. The draining of the marshy coast only started in the 1930-ies. In recent years, large-scale seaside tourism has developed there, for which the railway runs much too far inland.

Lines

FSE operates trains on the following routes: * Linea 1

Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway The Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway is a long Italian railway line, that connects Bari with Putignano, Martina Franca and further to Taranto. The line was opened in three stages between 1900 and 1931. On 12 August 1900 the section from ...

and

Bari-Casamassima-Putignano railway The Bari-Casamassima-Putignano railway is a long Italian railway line, that connects Bari with Putignano via Casamassima. The line was opened on 6 September 1905. Usage The line is used by the following service(s): *Local services (''Treno re ...

* Linea 2

Martina Franca–Lecce railway The Martina Franca–Lecce railway is an Italian long railway line, that connects Martina Franca with Francavilla Fontana and Lecce. The line was opened in four stages between 1907 and 1925. On 27 May 1907 the section from Lecce to Francavilla ...

* Linea 3

Novoli-Gagliano del Capo railway The Novoli-Gagliano del Capo railway is an Italian long railway line, that connects Novoli with Gagliano del Capo. The route operates through the region of Apulia. History The line was opened in stages between 1907 and 1911. Usage The line is ...

* Linea 4

Gallipoli–Casarano railway The Gallipoli–Casarano railway is an Italian long railway line, that connects Gallipoli with Casarano and Gagliano del Capo. The route operates through the region of Apulia. History The line was opened in 1919. Usage The line is used by th ...

* Linea 5

Zollino–Gallipoli railway The Zollino–Gallipoli railway is an Italian long railway line that connects Lecce and Zollino with Gallipoli in the region called Apulia. History The line was opened in stages between 1884 and 1885. Usage The line is used by the following se ...

* Linea 6

Maglie–Gagliano del Capo railway The Maglie–Gagliano del Capo railway is a long railway line that connects Lecce with Zollino, Maglie and Gagliano del Capo in the region of Apulia, Italy. History The line was opened in 1910. Usage The line is used by the following service( ...

* Linea 7

Lecce–Otranto railway The Lecce–Otranto railway is an Italian long railway line, that connects Lecce with Zollino, Maglie and Otranto. The route operates through the region of Apulia. History The line was opened in stages between 1868 and 1872. Usage The line is ...

Fleet

Current fleet

Former fleet

References

External links

{{commons category, Ferrovie del Sud-Est
Official website
Railway companies of Italy Transport in Apulia Railway companies established in 1931 Companies based in Apulia