The Ferrovie del Nord Barese are a regional railroad company active in Apulia

Apulia

Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

, southern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, managing the Bari

Bari Centrale railway station

Bari Centrale is the main railway station of the Italian city of Bari, capital of Apulia. It is one of the most important "FS" stations of Italy.-History:The station was first built in 1864 and between 1865 and 1906 5 more platforms were added...

-Barletta

Barletta railway station

Barletta railway station is the main station serving the city and comune of Barletta, in the region of Apulia, southern Italy. Opened in 1864, it forms part of the Adriatic Railway , and is also a junction station for two other, regional, lines, the Barletta–Spinazzola railway, and the Ferrovie...

 line. The company serving the line is the Ferrotramviaria S.p.A.. Bus service is also provided on the same line.

Cities connected include Bari, Bitonto

Bitonto

Bitonto is a city and comune in the province of Bari , Italy. It is nicknamed the "City of Olives" due to the numerous olive groves surrounding the city.-Geography:...

, Terlizzi

Terlizzi

Terlizzi is a town and comune in Apulia, Italy, in the province of Bari, to the west of the city of Bari, situated in the midst of a fertile plain. As of 2008, its population was some 27,400.-History:...

, Ruvo di Puglia

Ruvo di Puglia

Ruvo di Puglia is a town and comune in the province of Bari, Puglia, Italy that is essentially devoted to agriculture, wine and olive growing. It is part of the Murge karst landscape.-Geography and territory:...

, Corato

Corato

Corato is a town and comune in Italy. It is located in Bari province, Puglia region, southeastern Italy. Founded by the Normans, it became subject to Alfonso V, king of Aragon, at the end of the 15th century, and later to the Carafa family. The chief features of the ancient centre of the town,...

, Andria

Andria

-Places:Italy*Andria, a city in the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani*Roman Catholic Diocese of Andria, a Roman Catholic diocese...

 and Barletta.

History

The first project to connect Bari and Barletta was proposed in 1877, consisting in a horse tramway. Two years later however a commission was assigned to the Belgian company Societè des Chemins de fer economiques de Bari-Barletta et extensions S.A. for a steam tramway: a narrow gauge (750 mm) line was therefore built. The line was opened on 1 October 1883, being served by Belgian rolling stock. Maximum speed was 20 km/h.

In 1934 the society bankrupted, being replaced in 1937 by Ferrotramviaria S.p.A., located in Rome, which continued the steam service until 1959. Little time later the line was replaced by a standard gauge (1,435 mm) one electrified at 3000 V (then the standard electric voltage in Italian railways).

In 1964 9 modern EMUs entered service, together with 2 electric locomotives with 730 kW power. Later the total of motive power units reached 15, including locomotives rented from Ferrovie dello Stato

Ferrovie dello Stato

Ferrovie dello Stato is a government-owned holding which manage infrastructure and service on the Italian rail network. The subsidiary Trenitalia is the main rail operator in Italy.-Organization:Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries are:...

. Recently, the line acquired 6 new EMUs produced by Alstom

Alstom

Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...

.