Taranto railway station ( it, Stazione di Taranto) is the main station serving the city and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

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 ...

, in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

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

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

. Opened in 1868, it forms a

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

between three main lines, from

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

and

Reggio di 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 popula ...

, respectively. It is also a terminus of a secondary line, the

Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway The Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway is a long Italian railway line, that connects Bari with Putignano, Martina Franca and further to Taranto. The line was opened in three stages between 1900 and 1931. On 12 August 1900 the section from ...

. The station is currently managed by

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is the Italian railway infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), a state-owned holding company. RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it provides signalling, maintenance and other ser ...

(RFI). However, the commercial area of the passenger building is managed by

Centostazioni ( en, 100 Stations) is a subsidiary of Italian holding company Ferrovie dello Stato. The company was created to redevelop and manage 103 medium-sized Italian railway stations. History The company was founded in 2001 as ' ( en, Medium Stations ...

. The station's main line train services are operated by or on behalf of

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 transp ...

. Each of these companies is a subsidiary of

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 ...

(FS), Italy's state-owned rail company. Regional train services on the Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway are operated by

Ferrovie del Sud Est Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE) is a railway company in Apulia region, Italy. The company operates in the ''comuni'' south of Lecce and in the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto. The company also operates bus lines. In August 2016 its network was ...

(FSE).

Location

Taranto railway station is situated at Piazza della Libertà, at the end of Via Duca d'Aosta. It is a short distance to the north west of the '' Ponte di Porta Napoli'', the bridge over the natural channel between Taranto's ''Mar Grande'' and its ''Mar Piccolo''. The station is linked with the city centre by a combination of the ''Ponte di Porta Napoli'', the ''Isola del Borgo Antico'', and the ''Ponte di San Francesco di Paola'', or ''

Ponte Girevole The Ponte Girevole is a swing bridge in Taranto, Italy, spanning the navigation canal between Taranto's Mar Grande and the Mar Piccolo. The bridge connects Borgo Antico (Old Town) island to the Borgo Nuovo (new Town) peninsula. The canal was excav ...

'' ( en, Swing Bridge), a well known symbol of Taranto. The latter bridge spans the artificial channel between the ''Mar Grande'' and the ''Mar Piccolo''.

History

The station was opened on 15 September 1868, upon the inauguration of the

Gioia del Colle Gioia del Colle (; Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. The town is located on the Murge plateau at above sea level, between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Physical geography Territory ...

–Taranto section of the Bari–Taranto railway. On 28 February 1869, Taranto was also connected with

Metaponto Metaponto is a small town of about 1,000 people in the province of Matera, Basilicata, Italy. Administratively it is a frazione of Bernalda. History The town was built by the ancient Greeks to defend Sybaris from the growth of Taranto. A 1 k ...

, as the ''

Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali The Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali (Italian: ''Company for the Southern Railways'', ''SFM'') was an Italian railway company established in 1862. In 1885 it took the control of the so-called "Rete Adriatica" (''Adriatic Network'', ''R ...

'' ( en, Company for the Southern Railways, SFM) had initiated the construction of the Jonica railway (Taranto–Reggio di Calabria). On the same day, a connection between the station and the

Port of Taranto The Port of Taranto ( it, Porto di Taranto) is a port serving Taranto, southeastern Italy. One of the first in Italy for goods traffic, it is located on the northern coast of the gulf and plays an important role commercially and strategically. It ...

was opened, as was the first section of the Battipaglia–Potenza–Metaponto railway that, once completed, would open the then-important rail link to

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In 1886, 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 ...

'' ( en, Mediterranean Railway Company) opened the

Taranto–Brindisi railway The Taranto–Bridisi railway is an Italian 70-kilometre long railway line, connecting Taranto with Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region ...

. When finished, it would secure the faster and safer rail connection between these two major railway stations and port locations. From that point onwards, Taranto station was shared by two railway administrations, ''

Rete Adriatica Rete Adriatica (RA) defines the network of railway lines assigned to the Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali under the Conventions of 1885. This network was merged into the Italian State Railways (FS) in 1905. History Following the concl ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. Until the late nineteenth century, Taranto was an important railway junction for traffic in foodstuffs and timber from Calabria and Sicily to the Adriatic and the north. Its importance waned after the opening of the Southern Tyrrhenian railway, which diverted most of this traffic via Salerno and Naples. The establishment of the

(FSE) in 1931 created an additional source of regional traffic, via

Martina Franca Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, th ...

Features

The design of the passenger building is influenced by architectural styles that were in vogue in the mid-nineteenth century. It therefore consists of a two-storey central structure with a central clock tower, and two wings extending laterally for form one elevation. The trains stopping at the station range from regional services to

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

Eurostar Italia Eurostar Italia was the name given to high-speed trains operated by Trenitalia in Italy. The brand was discontinued and replaced with Le Frecce in December 2012. History The category Eurostar, introduced in 1997, replaced the Pendolino trains an ...

and high speed trains. Most train services are operated by Trenitalia. Services on the Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway are the exception. They are operated by Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE). *High speed services (''Frecciabianca'') Milan - Parma - Bologna - Ancona - Pescara - Foggia - Bari - Taranto *Intercity services Rome - Naples - Salerno - Taranto *Intercity services Rome - Foggia - Bari - Taranto *Intercity services Bologna - Rimini - Ancona - Pescara - Foggia - Bari - Taranto *Intercity services Reggio di Calabria - Siderno - Crotone - Rossano - Taranto *Night train (''Intercity Notte'') Milan - Ancona - Pescara - Foggia - Bari - Taranto - Brindisi - Lecce *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Naples - Salerno - Potenza - Metaponto - Taranto *Local services (''Treno regionale'') Bari - Gioia del Colle - Taranto *Local services (''Treno regionale'') Taranto - Francavilla Fontana - Brindisi *Local services (''Treno regionale'') Martina Franca - Taranto

Interchange

Local buses link the Piazza della Libertà, outside the station, with the city centre.

References

External links

History and pictures of Taranto railway station
--> ''This article is based upon a translation of the Italian language version as at January 2011.''
{{Italian railway stations

Railway Station 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 ...