The Ionian Railway (''Ferrovia Jonica'') is an Italian long

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line that connects

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 ...

, with

Sibari Sibari is an Italian ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Cassano allo Ionio. It lies in the province of Cosenza which is part of the region Calabria. Geography It is located close to the Gulf of Taranto and the archaeological sit ...

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...

and

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

. The route operates through the regions of

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

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

and

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. The route largely follows the coast of the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

History

The line was opened in stages between 1866 and 1875.

Developments

On 13 November 1989 the line between Taranto and Sibari was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

. The line has also been electrified between Melito di Porto Salvo and Reggio Calabria to allow for the operation of a suburban service. On 12 December 2010 Gabella Grande, Isola Capo Rizzuto, Marconia, San Leonardo di Cutro and Thurio stations were downgraded to halts. On the same date O.G.R di Saline Joniche, Pietrapaola and San Sosthenes stations closed.''Impianti FS'', in "I Treni" n. 333 (January 2011), pp. 6-7 On 21 February 2013 the station serving

Reggio Calabria Airport Reggio di Calabria "Tito Minniti" Airport , also known as Aeroporto dello Stretto (''Airport of the Strait'') is an airport located in Reggio Calabria, in southern Italy. It serves mainly the Metropolitan City of Reggio and the Province of Messin ...

opened, linking it to the city. On 9 June 2013 the station Melito di Porto Salvo opened in Annà.

Usage

The line is used by the following service(s): *Intercity services Rome - Naples - Salerno - Taranto *Intercity services Reggio di Calabria - Siderno - Crotone - Sibari - Taranto *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Naples - Salerno - Potenza - Metaponto - Taranto *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Sibari - Monte Giordano - Metaponto *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Sibari - Crotone - Catanzaro Lido *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Catanzaro Lido - Roccela Jonica - Reggio di Calabria *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Melito di Porto Salvo - Reggio di Calabria - Villa San Giovanni

Stations currently without services

The following stations on the Ionian Railway are currently not served by any railway service: *Scanzano Jonico-Montalbano Jonico (freight trains only) *Sinni (dismissed) *Nova Siri-Rotondella (without any train service) *Rocca Imperiale (without any train service) *Montegiordano (without any train service) *Roseto-Capo Spulico (without any train service) *Amendolara-Oriolo (without any train service) *Toscano (dismissed - regional trains to/from Sibari, Crotone, and Catanzaro Lido call only on the opening days of the Odissea 2000 water park) *Pietrapaola (dismissed) *Roccabernarda (dismissed) *San Sostiene (dismissed) *Capo Spartivento (dismissed) The following former railway stations on the line have been converted to signalling controls: *Bosco Pineto *Thurio *Gabella Grande *Isola di Capo Rizzuto *San Leonardo di Cutro

References

Footnotes

Sources

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