Palermo Notarbartolo railway station
Encyclopedia
Palermo Notarbartolo railway station is one of the main stations serving the city and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

of Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, capital of the region
Regions of Italy
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of the state, constituting its first NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, of which five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes....

 of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 in Italy
Insular Italy
Insular Italy is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics , a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Insular Italy encompasses two of the country's 20 regions:...

. Opened in 1974, it is the second most important station in Palermo, after Palermo Centrale
Palermo Centrale railway station
Palermo Centrale is the main railway station of the Italian city of Palermo, capital of Sicily. It is one of the most important "FS" stations of Italy. Along with Catania Centrale, Messina Centrale and Syracuse it is one of the most important stations of its region...

. It forms part of the Palermo–Trapani railway, and is also the junction station
Junction station
Junction station usually refers to a railway station situated or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines...

 for a branch line to Palermo Giachery.

The station is currently managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana is an Italian company fully owned by Ferrovie dello Stato . RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it sets train paths, provides signalling, provides maintenance and other services for the railway network...

 (RFI). Train services are operated by Trenitalia
Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. Trenitalia is owned by Ferrovie dello Stato, itself owned by the Italian Government. It was created in 2000 following the EU directive on the deregulation of rail transport.-Passenger transport:...

. Each of these companies is a subsidiary of 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:...

 (FS), Italy's state-owned rail company.

Location

Palermo Notarbartolo railway station is situated at Piazza Matteo Maria Boiardo
Matteo Maria Boiardo
Matteo Maria Boiardo was an Italian Renaissance poet.Boiardo was born at, or near, Scandiano ; the son of Giovanni di Feltrino and Lucia Strozzi, he was of noble lineage, ranking as Count of Scandiano, with seignorial power over Arceto, Casalgrande, Gesso, and Torricella...

, to the north west of the Palermo city centre. It takes its name from Via Notarbartolo, one of the most important streets in Palermo.

History

The station was opened in 1974. Work on its construction had begun in the 1930s, but had been suspended during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. After several vicissitudes, the work had later resumed, and was brought to fruition in the 1970s. With the opening of the Notarbartolo station, the old Palermo Lolli station, located in Piazza Lolli, was decommissioned.

The station was created as part of modifications to Palermo's rail infrastructure arrangements. These modifications were aimed at streamlining the traffic affected by about 10 level crossings that had actually "cut the town in two". To solve this problem, the lines were placed deep underground.

In the 1990s, a metro-link to Palermo Notarbartolo was opened from Palermo Centrale, in Piazza Giachery. It uses the existing underground route of the old Bivio–Olivuzza–Porto railway, and touches most of the city.

Currently under construction is another railway link that will connect a further big chunk of the city (the south-west).

Facilities

The architectural design of the station is very special, as it has only a head house
Head house
A head house is a part of a train station.-Rail terminals:In the context of rail transport, head house refers to that portion of a passenger terminal not housing the tracks and platforms themselves. Typically, the head house contains ticket counters, toilets and baggage facilities, if there are...

 at street level, while the rest of the station, including the tracks, are far below street level. There are seven platforms in total.

Italferr
Italferr
Italferr is the consulting company belonging to FS , the Italian railway.-External links:*...

 has recently started renovation work on the station that will radically alter its face, and make it part of a small shopping centre.


Interchange

The station offers interchange with lines A and B of the Palermo Metro.

There is also a bus terminal for local buses.

See also

  • History of rail transport in Italy
  • List of railway stations in Sicily
  • Rail transport in Italy
    Rail transport in Italy
    The Italian railway system is one of the most important infrastructure in the country, with a total length of . The network is recently growing with the construction of the new high speed rail network....

  • Railway stations in Italy
    Railway stations in Italy
    Railway stations in Italy are maintained and operated by the RFI division of Ferrovie dello Stato Group. A minor part of them is operated by private and regional companies, conceded by the state.-Classification:...


External links

This article is based upon a translation of the Italian language version, as at March 2011.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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