The Palermo metropolitan railway service is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

system operated by

Trenitalia Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail tra ...

. It serves the city of Palermo in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

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 ...

Lines

There are two lines: * Palermo Centrale

Punta Raisi Falcone Borsellino Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto Falcone Borsellino) or simply Palermo Airport, formerly Punta Raisi Airport, is an international airport located at Cinisi, west northwest of Palermo, the capital city of the Italian islan ...

(airport) * Palermo Notarbartolo Giachery Both lines are served by a train every 30 minutes, although on the Palermo CentralePunta Raisi line some stops are served by half of the trains.

History

The first section of the Palermo "metropolitana" was opened in 1990, a month before the beginning of Italia 90, the football World Cup. The line had only six stations: Palermo Centrale, Vespri, Palermo Notarbartolo, Federico, Fiera and Giachery. The line used the tracks of the old PalermoTrapani railway, running across the city until Notarbartolo station, and from there it followed the branch to the port, along which new stops were built. This line was also used to reach the Stadio Renzo Barbera (Stadio della Favorita) football stadium. In November 1993 a new branch was opened, on the tracks of the railway to

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

, running

diesel railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

s type

ALn 668 The ALn 668 (''Automotrice Leggera a nafta'', Light Diesel motor car) series is a family of diesel railcars built by Fiat Ferroviaria between the 1950s and the 1980s. The trains were built for the Italian public railway company Ferrovie dello S ...

. The first two stops were San Lorenzo-Colli and Tommaso Natale. In 1994 stops at

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

and Cardillo-Zen were opened. In 2001 a new tunnel station (''Palazzo Reale-Orleans'') was opened, serving the city centre. The metropolitan service was extended to

Punta Raisi railway station Punta Raisi railway station ( it, Stazione di Punta Raisi), is located within Palermo Airport ( it, Aeroporto di Palermo "Falcone e Borsellino") (IATA code: PMO) in Cinisi, near Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Opened in 2004, the station is the northwe ...

, serving the

Falcone Borsellino Airport Falcone Borsellino Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto Falcone Borsellino) or simply Palermo Airport, formerly Punta Raisi Airport, is an international airport located at Cinisi, west northwest of Palermo, the capital city of the Italian islan ...

.Marco Minari: ''Treni in aeroporto.'' In: ''I Treni'' Nr. 280, April 2006. Editrice Trasporti su Rotaie, page 31

Projects

Palermo CentralePunta Raisi

Improvements on this line began 22 February 2008. * A second track is planned for the Palermo-Trapani route, which currently is only a single track between the Orleans and Carini stations. With the new track in place, there will be an increase in the number of trains and a reduction in journey times. * The work includes removing all level crossings by lowering the track in some sections of the line and the construction of overpasses at other sections, constructing whichever is best at that location. * Twelve stops will be added with new stations at Ficarazzi, Roccella, Guadagna, Palazzo di Giustizia, Lolli, Lazio-Restivo, Belgio, La Malfa, Sferracavallo, Kennedy, Torre Ciachea and Orsa. * The line will also be extended to Ficarazzi, with connections through to Messina.

Palermo NotarbartoloGiachery

This route was repaired in 1993. * The line will be completely transformed, forming a complete ring known as the Palermo Rail Ring, extending from Giachery to Notarbartolo with new stops at Porto and Malaspina Politeama-Catania. * The new route will be underground. * A new stop will open Lazio Libertà. * This line will not get a second track. * Work has stopped temporarily due to an appeal made by the firm that came in second when the contract was awarded.

References

External links

Palermo metropolitan railways
unofficial website
News about the works
(IT) {{Urban public transport in Italy Transport in Palermo Rapid transit in Italy