The FL lines, formerly Lazio regional railways (, also ''Ferrovie Laziali'') consist of 8

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

lines operated by

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

, converging on the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. It operates as a combined suburban railway system that connects the city-centre and the outskirts of the city via a

line. The FL network, initially made up of two lines and called FM lines (Metropolitan Railways), was formally inaugurated in 1994, following the signing of an agreement between the

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

Region, the Municipality of Rome, the

Province of Rome The province of Rome () was one of the five provinces that formed part of the Lazio region of Italy. It was established in 1870 and disestablished in 2014. It was essentially coterminous with the Rome metropolitan area. The city of Rome was t ...

and

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. (; ; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the initialism FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estate services and other services in ...

, aimed at implementing a new integrated transport structure in the Roman metropolitan and regional area. Lines FL1, FL2 and FL3 function like a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

service, integrated with the

Rome Metro The Rome Metro () is a rapid transit system that operates in Rome, Italy. It started operation in 1955, making it the oldest in the country. The Metro comprises three lines – A (orange), B (blue) and C (green) – which operate on of rout ...

and surface transportation. The other lines (numbered from FL4 to FL8) mostly serve the suburban area of Rome and the Lazio region, and used almost exclusively for commuter traffic.

Lines

Service

All eight lines are considered regional trains by

. On timetables and departure boards at the stations the trains are marked with the letter ''R'' (Regional). The service timetable is based on a

clock-face scheduling A clock-face schedule, also cyclic schedule, is a timetable system under which public transport services run at consistent intervals, as opposed to a timetable that is purely driven by demand and has irregular headways. The name derives from the ...

Frequencies

Sections with one train every 15 minutes: * Fiumicino Aeroporto - Fara Sabina (line FL1) * Roma Ostiense - Cesano di Roma (line FL3) Sections with one train every 30 minutes: * Fiumicino Aeroporto - Fara Sabina - Poggio Mirteto (line FL1) * Roma Tiburtina - Lunghezza (line FL2) * Cesano - Bracciano (line FL3) * Roma Termini - Civitavecchia (line FL5) Sections with one train every 60 minutes: * Fiumicino Aeroporto - Poggio Mirteto - Orte (line FL1) * Lunghezza - Tivoli (line FL2) * Bracciano - Viterbo Porta Fiorentina (line FL3)

Fares

For travel between stations in the City of Rome, ticketing is integrated with the Metrebus Rome system. A passenger may use the

integrated ticket Integrated ticketing enables a journey involving transfers within or between different modes of transportation using a single ticket that is valid for the entire journey. These modes include buses, trains, subways, and ferries, among others. The ...

"BIT" from €1,50 (valid for 100 minutes) or any other type of integrated ticket or Metrebus pass; in addition, Trenitalia sells special "Anello" tickets where one may travel on any Trenitalia train within the City of Rome with a single €1 ticket (valid for 90 minutes). The "Anello" and the Metrebus Rome tickets are only valid within Rome, bounded by the stations: Capannelle (FL4 and FL6), Cesano di Roma (FL3), Fiera di Roma (FL1), Lunghezza (FL2), Roma Aurelia (FL5), Settebagni (FL1) and Torricola (FL7 and FL8). For all trips that take place outside the "Anello" ring, or that cross through the ring, the typical regional mileage rate applies.

Rolling stock

Much of the service is operated by double-decker trainsets, usually operating in double formations. The fleet of convoys operating on the network is made up of 388 trains on the entire Lazio railway network, distinguished according to service needs: *''

Treno ad alta frequentazione ALe 426/506 TAF (acronym of Treno ad Alta Frequentazione) is an Italian Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) used mainly on commuter regional trains. Concept design has been made by Italian designer Pininfarina. Two different companies employ them: Tre ...

'' (TAF): introduced in 1998 and is the most used train on much of the network; *''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

'': since 2014, used only on the FL4 line; *'' E.464 + Vivalto'': The E464 locomotive coupled to the Vivalto double-decker carriages, this type of train is mainly used on the FL5, FL6, FL7 and FL8 lines. *'' ETR Rock'': introduced in 2021, the new high-traffic train aimed at replacing the old TAFs, operating mainly on the FL1 and FL3 lines.

Planned extensions

Following the upgrading of the Rome railway hub by RFI, new FL stops will be built such as Roma Pigneto, in correspondence with the Pigneto station of the metro, which will be the third busiest railway hub in Rome after

Roma Termini Roma Termini (in Italian, ''Stazione Termini'') is the main railway station of Rome, Italy. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian (in Latin, ''thermae''), which li ...

and

Roma Tiburtina Roma Tiburtina is the second largest railway station in Rome, after Roma Termini station, Roma Termini. Located in the north-eastern part of the city, it was originally constructed during the 1860s as a Train station#Terminus, terminal station, a ...

, and track doubling and quadrupling will be implemented on the existing sections as well as technological upgrades for the safety and control of train movement (the implementation of the

European Rail Traffic Management System The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the o ...

(ERTMS) in the Rome hub is expected by 2024). In June 2022, 32 years after the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

, the Valle Aurelia - Vigna Clara route was reactivated with the related Vigna Clara stop, which will be a fundamental part of the so-called "Cintura-Nord" (Northern Belt), whose closure, expected for years, will to complete the Rome railway ring. A year later, in June 2023, the Val d'Ala station was reopened, which is served by some trains of the FL2 line that leave and return from the "Roma Smistamento" depot.

Network map

Bibliography

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