The Menaggio–Porlezza railway ( it, Ferrovia Menaggio-Porlezza) 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, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

province of Como The Province of Como ( it, Provincia di Como; german: Provinz Como; Comasco: ) is a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy and borders the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grigioni to the North, the Italian provinces of Sondrio and Le ...

. The line connected the town of

Menaggio Menaggio ( lmo, label=Comasco, Menas ) 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, Lov ...

, on

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

, with

Porlezza 240px, Interiori of the church of San Vittore. Porlezza is a ''comune'' (municipality) on Lake Lugano in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about north of Como. Porlezza borders the following m ...

, on

Lake Lugano __NOTOC__ Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) 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 ...

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

Luino Luino (Western Lombard: ''Lüin'') is a small town and ''comune'' near the border with Switzerland on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, in the Province of Varese (Lombardy, northern Italy). Luino received the honorary title of city with a presid ...

, on

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest la ...

History

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

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

s, between

and

Ponte Tresa Ponte Tresa ( Lombard: ''Punt da Tresa'') is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 18 April 2021 the municipalities of Croglio, Monteggio, Ponte Tresa and Sessa merged to form Tresa. Histo ...

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, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s. The outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 Swiss company operating passenger services on Lake Lugano. The company also operates bus routes in the same area, and is based at Cassarate in the city ...

'' (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 Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy">Edolo.html" ;"title="Brescia-Edolo">Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy, not shown in map. Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM S.p.A.) is ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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