Line B is a metro line serving Rome, Italy, and part of the

Rome Metro The Rome Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Roma) 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) � ...

. Despite its name, Line B was the first line to be built in the city. It crosses Rome diagonally from north-east, starting at Rebibbia and at Jonio stations, to south, terminating at Laurentina, in the

EUR The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

district. It crosses Line A at Termini station. The line has 26 stations and is shown in blue on Metro maps.

Overview

Its first service runs at 05:30 and its last at 23:30. From 18 January 2008, the last Friday and Saturday service runs at 1:30. It carries 345,000 passengers a day and runs 377 trains a day, with a peak time frequency of one train every 3 minutes in the shared section and 4,5 minutes in the branches. Every 6 minutes at other times, at a maximum frequency of 9 minutes at the most off-peak times.

History

Despite its name, Line B was the first metro line in Rome. The line was planned during the 1930s by the Fascist government in search of a rapid connection between the main train station, Termini, and a new district to the south-east of the city, E42, the planned location of the

Universal Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

(or Expo), which was to be held in Rome in 1942. The exposition never took place due to Italy's entrance into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1940. When work was interrupted some of the tunnels on the city-centre side of the metro (between ''Termini'' and ''Piramide'') had been completed and were used as air raid shelters during the war. Work on the metro began again in 1948, in concert with turning the space, formerly designated for the Expo, into a commercial district under the name

Esposizione Universale Roma EUR is a residential and business district in Rome, Italy, part of the Municipio IX. The area was originally chosen in the 1930s as the site for the 1942 World's Fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism, ...

(EUR). The line was officially opened on 9 February 1955 by the President of the Republic

Luigi Einaudi Luigi Numa Lorenzo Einaudi (; 24 March 1874 – 30 October 1961) was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the president of Italy from 1948 to 1955. Early life Einaudi was born to Lorenzo and Placida Fracchia in Carrù, in the pro ...

. Regular services began on the following day. When the new east–west line began service in 1980 from Anagnina to Ottaviano, it was named Line A, while the existing Termini-Laurentina line was renamed Line B. In 1990, Line B was extended from Termini to Rebibbia to the east of the city, and the entire line was modernised. A spur called B1 opened on 13 June 2012. It is a branch of Line B from

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

to Giacio with 4 stations: Sant'Agnese/Annibaliano, Libia, Conca d'Oro, and the branch's new terminus at Giacio, opened on 21 April 2015). Line B has 26 stations with terminuses at Rebibbia, Giacio and Laurentina (just east of

Opening dates

* 9 February 1955: Termini – Laurentina * 8 December 1990: Termini – Rebibbia * 13 June 2012:

– Conca d'Oro (B1) * 21 April 2015: Conca d'Oro – Giacio (B1)

Extensions

After the recently opened B1 line, there have been plans for an extension beyond Jonio (and then to Bufalotta). Another future extension has been planned beyond Rebibbia with two stations: ''San Basilio'' and ''Torraccia/Casal Monastero''. File:Metropolitana_di_Roma_B1.svg, Logo of the B1 extension File:2012-06-27_Roma_Metro_B1_Conca_d'Oro_-_esterno_fronte.jpg, Conca d'Oro station File:2012-06-27_Roma_Metro_B1_stazione_Libia.jpg, Libia station File:Jonio_station_(line_B,_Rome)_-_Entry.jpg, Jonio station File:Roma_Metro_B1_S_Agnese_Annibaliano_esterno_2.jpg, S.Agnese/Annibaliano station

Rolling stock

When the B line opened in 1955, MR100 and MR200 trains (also collectively known as Automotrice Stanga-TIBB) were used, and were transferred to the Rome-Lido railway in 1987, replaced by Series MB100 trains introduced in the same year, not only to replace the ageing MR100 and MR200 trains but also to cope with an increase in passengers following the opening of the eastward extension to Rebibbia. A fleet of trains identical to the MB100 trains were also built for the

Lima Metro The Lima Metro ( es, Metro de Lima) is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the cities of Lima and Callao, both of which make up the Lima metropolitan area, currently linking the district of Villa El Salvador in the south of Lima ...

in Peru. Since 2010, Line B has also uses the newer CAF MA300 and from 2014, MB400 Series trains similar to those on the Line A. File:Rome_metro_01.jpg, Entrance of Cavour Station, Feb 2017 File:Rome_metro_04.jpg, Interior of Line B train, Feb 2017 File:Rome_metro_03.jpg, Ticket gates of Colosseo Station, Feb 2017 File:Rome-metro-B-1.jpg, MR200 train at

Piramide Piramide is a station on Line B of the Rome Metro. It was opened on 10 February 1955 and is sited on Piazzale Ostiense (across which is the Pyramid of Cestius that gives the station its name) just outside Porta San Paolo, in the Ostiense quarte ...

, 1984 File:Roma_metropolitana_stazione_Colosseo.jpg, MB100 train at Colosseo File:RomeBLineTrain.jpg, A side view of the 1990 built MB100 cars on a Laurentina bound train stopping at EUR Magliana covered with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

. File:LineBRomeMetroCarInterior.JPG, Interior of an MB100 series car.

Notes

External links

{{Urban rail transport in Rome Rome Metro lines Railway lines opened in 1955 1955 establishments in Italy