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

. 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 Rebibbia is an urban zone of Rome, Italy. It is located on the ancient Via Tiburtina on the northeast edge of the city. Administratively Rebibbia is part of both Ponte Mammolo quarter of Rome and Municipio IV of Rome. The suburb, first developed ...

and at Jonio stations, to south, terminating at Laurentina, in the

EUR The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 10 ...

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, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

(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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 area and the major 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 y ...

(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, economist and banker who served as President of Italy from 1948 to 1955 and is considered one of the founding fathers of the 1946 Italian institutional ...

. 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 ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

to Jonio with 4 stations: Sant'Agnese/Annibaliano, Libia, Conca d'Oro, and the branch's new terminus at Jonio, opened on 21 April 2015). Line B has 26 stations with terminuses at Rebibbia, Jonio 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 – Jonio (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. 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:Entrée Station Métro Colosseo Piazza Colosseo - Rome (IT62) - 2021-08-29 - 1.jpg, Entrance of Colosseo Station, August 2021 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, 1984 File:Tower of Sant'Agnese-Annibaliano station in November 2013.JPG, Tower of Sant'Agnese-Annibaliano station in November 2013 File:ATAC MB100.jpg, A side view of the 1990 built MB100 cars at Termini File:ATAC CAF Line B 325.jpg, CAF S/300 MA300 in service on line B at Garbatella File:ATAC CAF Line B 407.jpg, CAF S/300 MB400 in service on line B at Piramide

Notes

External links

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