The Ionian Railway (''Ferrovia Jonica'') is an Italian long

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line that connects

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

, with

Sibari Sibari is an Italian ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Cassano allo Ionio. It lies in the province of Cosenza which is part of the region Calabria. Geography It is located close to the Gulf of Taranto and the archaeological s ...

Crotone Crotone (; ; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( or ; ), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras amongst other famous citizens, and one ...

and

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

. The route operates through the regions of

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

and

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. The route largely follows the coast of the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

History

The line was opened in stages between 1866 and 1875.

Developments

On 13 November 1989 the line between Taranto and Sibari was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

. The line has also been electrified between Melito di Porto Salvo and Reggio Calabria to allow for the operation of a suburban service. On 12 December 2010 Gabella Grande, Isola Capo Rizzuto, Marconia, San Leonardo di Cutro and Thurio stations were downgraded to halts. On the same date O.G.R di Saline Joniche, Pietrapaola and San Sosthenes stations closed.''Impianti FS'', in "I Treni" n. 333 (January 2011), pp. 6-7 On 21 February 2013 the station serving

Reggio Calabria Airport Reggio di Calabria "Tito Minniti" Airport , also known as Aeroporto dello Stretto (''Airport of the Strait'') is an airport located in Reggio Calabria, in southern Italy. It serves mainly the Metropolitan City of Reggio and the Province of Messin ...

opened, linking it to the city. On 9 June 2013 the station Melito di Porto Salvo opened in Annà.

Usage

The line is used by the following service(s): *Intercity services Rome - Naples - Salerno - Taranto *Intercity services Reggio di Calabria - Siderno - Crotone - Sibari - Taranto *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Naples - Salerno - Potenza - Metaponto - Taranto *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Sibari - Monte Giordano - Metaponto *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Sibari - Crotone - Catanzaro Lido *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Catanzaro Lido - Roccela Jonica - Reggio di Calabria *Regional services (''Treno regionale'') Melito di Porto Salvo - Reggio di Calabria - Villa San Giovanni

Stations currently without services

The following stations on the Ionian Railway are currently not served by any railway service: *Scanzano Jonico-Montalbano Jonico (freight trains only) *Sinni (dismissed) *Nova Siri-Rotondella (without any train service) *Rocca Imperiale (without any train service) *Montegiordano (without any train service) *Roseto-Capo Spulico (without any train service) *Amendolara-Oriolo (without any train service) *Toscano (dismissed - regional trains to/from Sibari, Crotone, and Catanzaro Lido call only on the opening days of the Odissea 2000 water park) *Pietrapaola (dismissed) *Roccabernarda (dismissed) *San Sostiene (dismissed) *Capo Spartivento (dismissed) The following former railway stations on the line have been converted to signalling controls: *Bosco Pineto *Thurio *Gabella Grande *Isola di Capo Rizzuto *San Leonardo di Cutro

References

Footnotes

Sources

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