Porto Ceresio–Milan railway is a railway line in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
,
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 ...
. It uses the tracks of the
Milan–Arona railway until
Gallarate
Gallarate (; Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people.
It is the junction of railways to Va ...
.
History
The line was opened from
Gallarate
Gallarate (; Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people.
It is the junction of railways to Va ...
to
Varese
Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559.
It is the c ...
on 26 September 1865; in 1885 it went to the state network
Rete Mediterranea
Rete Mediterranea (RM) defines that part of the Italian railway network that, under the law of 27 April 1885 no. 3048, was assigned to the Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo for operation and development. These were mainly lines fro ...
, operated by the
Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo The Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo (''Mediterranean Railway Company'') was an Italian railway company from 1885 to 1905.
It was established on 1 July 1885 and it absorbed the lines of the Società per le strade ferrate dell'Alta ...
.
In 1894 the Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo extended the line from Varese to
Porto Ceresio
Porto Ceresio ( Varesino: ''Pòrt Cerési'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) on Lake Lugano in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about northeast of Varese, on the border with Switzerland. ...
, through a beloved touristic area until the shore of
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 ...
.
In 1899 the line was chosen for an experimental electrification with a
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
at 650 V DC, put into service in 1901–1902.
[Giovanni Cornolò: ''Locomotive elettriche FS.'', Parma, Ermanno Albertelli Editore, 1994. . P. 21.]
From 1905 the line was operated by the new state railway company, the
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 ...
;
but between 1908 and 1918 the section from Varese to Porto Ceresio, that had been built by the Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo, was given back to that society.
In 1949 the line was electrified with the actual
overhead line
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipmen ...
system, with a tension of 3 kV DC; the third rail was dismantled two years later.
Since December 2004 the section from Gallarate to Varese is used by the trains of the
line S5 of
Milan suburban railway service
The Milan S Lines constitute the commuter rail system serving the metropolitan area of Milan, Italy.
The system comprises 11 lines serving 124 stations, for a total length of 403 km.
There are 415 trains per day with a daily ridership of a ...
.
Since 1 January 2010 the section from Varese to Porto Ceresio has been put out of service, due to reconstruction works related with the new
international line to Stabio, that will connect Varese with
Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
and
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
via
Mendrisio
Mendrisio (; lmo, label= Ticinese, Mendris ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura of the university of Italian-speaking Switzerland (U ...
.
[''Arcisate al via.'' In: ″I Treni″ Nr. 318 (September 2009), p. 4.]
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
*
*
See also
*
List of railway lines in Italy
This is a list of all railway lines in Italy.
Active lines
Managed by Ferrovie dello Stato
High–speed lines
* Turin–Milan
* Milan–Verona (under construction)
* Verona–Venice (under construction)
* Venice–Trieste (planning p ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porto Ceresio-Milan railway
Railway lines in Lombardy
Railway lines opened in 1894