The Menaggio–Porlezza railway () was a railway in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

province of Como The province of Como (; Comasco dialect, Comasco: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It borders the Switzerland, Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grisons, Grigioni to the north, the Italian provinces of Province of ...

. The line connected the town of

Menaggio Menaggio ( ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Como, Lombardy, northern Italy, located on the western shore of Lake Como at the mouth of the river Senagra. Menaggio has three ''frazioni'' (parishes): Croce, Loveno and Nobiallo. History ...

, on

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

, with Porlezza, on

Lake Lugano Lake Lugano ( or , from ; ) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated between Lake Como and Lago Maggiore. It was cited for the first t ...

, and was built as part of a multi-modal transport link between Menaggio and Luino, on

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; ; ; ; literally 'greater lake') or Verbano (; ) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland. The lake and its shoreline are divided be ...

History

Previous plans to link Menaggio and Luino envisaged an international railway via the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city of Lugano, running for much of its length alongside

. However difficulties in financing the proposal, and the substantial engineering works that would be required alongside the lake, led to a revised plan which was eventually implemented. This involved the construction of two unconnected railways, both entirely located within Italy. The Menaggio–Porlezza railway and the were linked by the use of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s, between Porlezza and

Ponte Tresa Ponte Tresa () is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lugano (district), Lugano in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 18 April 2021 the municipalities of Croglio, Monteggio, Ponte T ...

on Lake Lugano, to form the desired through route. The '' Società di Navigazione e Ferrovie per lago di Lugano'' (SNF) was formed in 1873 to construct and operate this transport link. Although both ends of this link were in Italy, the company was created with Swiss finance, and headquartered in Lugano. The line was constructed to a gauge of , and was operated with

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s. The outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

lead to a considerable loss of traffic and consequent financial problems, and the SNF decided to sell its railways and concentrate on operating its steamboat services on Lake Lugano. Both lines were sold to the '' Società Varesina per le Imprese Elettriche'' (SVIE) in 1919. After the sale, the SNF changed its name to the ''

Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano The ''Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano'' or Lake Lugano Navigation Company (SNL) is a Switzerland, Swiss company operating passenger services on Lake Lugano. The company also operates bus routes in the same area, and is based at Cassarat ...

'' (SNL). The SNL still exists, operating shipping and bus services on and around Lake Lugano. Whilst the Ponte Tresa–Luino railway was assimilated into the SVIE's existing network of electric railways that already served Luino, the Menaggio–Porlezza was isolated from the rest of the SVIE network. Plans to electrify it never came to fruition, and the SVIE arranged for the creation of a separate company (the ''Società Anonima Prealpina di Trasporto'' or SPT) which was jointly owned by the SVIE,

Ferrovie Nord Milano 450px, Map of the main branch of the FNM lines. FNM operates also the Edolo.html" ;"title="Brescia-Edolo">Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy, not shown in map. Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM S.p.A.) is an Italian public transport company: the ...

and the Commercial Bank of Milan. Traffic continued to decline, and road improvements meant that bus services could offer faster and cheaper journeys than the train. The line closed in 1939, although

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

delayed disposal of the line. Attempts to reopen the line after the war were unsuccessful, and the trackbed and buildings were all disposed of by 1966.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menaggio-Porlezza railway 850 mm gauge railways in Italy Province of Como Railway lines in Lombardy Defunct railroads Menaggio