Rome Tram
Encyclopedia
The current Rome tram system is a leftover from what once was the largest tram
system in Italy
. With its fragmented structure, it does not currently function as a backbone of the city's public transport. The system is owned and operated by Agenzia per i Trasporti Autoferrotranviari del Comune di Roma (ATAC SpA).
, where four out of six lines meet (3, 5, 14 and 19), as well as the Rome-Pantano railway. This is about 1 km east of Roma Termini railway station
, and not connected to the metro network.
The following lines currently run:
2 Piazzale Flaminio ↔ Piazza Mancini
This short line runs through the Flaminio neighbourhood, connecting at Piazzale Flaminio (near the Porta del Popolo) with Line A
and the Rome-Viterbo railway line.
3 Piazza Thorvaldsen (in the Villa Borghese
) ↔ Trastevere railway station.
Due to maintenance and reconstruction works in the area south of Porta Maggiore, the route is currently replaced with buses. Theoretically, this is the longest line after line 19, going round the city centre in a wide arc from north via east to south-west. At the western endpoint Trastevere railway station, this line connects with the Regional railways (lines 1, 3 and 5), while connections with Metro A are at Manzoni
and San Giovanni
. There are four connections with metro Line B
: one at Policlinico
, and three on the stretch Piramide
-Circo Massimo (Rome Metro)
-Colosseo
, where line 3 follows Metro B on the surface.
5 Roma Termini railway station
↔ Piazza dei Gerani.
This line runs east from Termini railway station. It connects with line A at Termini metro station
, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II
and Manzoni.
8 Largo di Torre Argentina
↔ Via del Casaletto.
Line 8 is the newest line of the system, always running with modern stock. It also reaches furthest into the historic city centre, connecting it with Trastevere railway station. Although there are plans to extend the line eastward from Largo Argentina to Stazione Termini, Rome's mayor Alemanno spoke of a new terminus west of Largo Argentina, at Via delle Botteghe Oscure, in August 2010.
14 Stazione Termini ↔ Viale Palmiro Togliatti
This line mostly follows the route of line 5.
19 Piazza Risorgimento ↔ Piazza dei Gerani.
This line connects the Vatican
with the rest of the tram network, following the route of first line 3, and then line 5. It connects with the metro at Ottaviano - San Pietro - Musei Vaticani
, Lepanto (Rome Metro)
(both Line A) and Policlinico (line B). Line 19 is the longest line, connecting with all other tram lines, except for line 8.
authorized a line from Piazza Venezia
to the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura to transport pilgrim
s. This first line did not run according to a timetable
; trams left when they were full. Horse trams arrived in 1877, connecting Piazzale Flaminio with the Ponte Milvio
, the current line 2.
In 1895, electric trams arrived, connecting Termini station to Piazza San Silvestro. By 1904, all horse tram lines had been electrified - the Ponte Milvio tram last. By 1905, a total of 17 tram lines was operating, using 144 electric vehicles, with a number of horse-drawn trams functioning as backup.
After a few years of competition with the incumbent company SRTO, in 1929, government-controlled company ATAG (Azienda Tranvie Autobus del Governo di Roma) took over the whole network, and by the end of that year, the network had reached its largest extent: no fewer than 59 lines along 140 km of track. As many lines shared parts of their routes, a large reorganization took place in 1930: from then on, two circular lines functioned alongside 24 radial lines, which all started out from the inner ring (the 'black ring'), and crossed the outer ring (the 'red ring'). Within the inner ring, all tram lines were cancelled and substituted by autobuses. 40 kilometers of tracks were dismantled, and part of the older rolling stock was demolished.
After the Second World War, the operating company changed its name to ATAC (Azienda Tranvie ed Autobus del Comune di Roma), but the network kept shrinking. The inner ring was deactivated in 1959; the outer ring only ran in one direction from that year until reconstruction in 1975. The connection Piazzale Flaminio-Ponte Milvio was cancelled in 1960 and reconstructed in 1983 (northern part) and 1990 (southern part). Line 8 was opened in 1998. There are plans to open more lines, including connections from the current northern terminus of line 8 to Termini, and a line from the same terminus towards the Vatican.
. Trams feature in some of them:
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system in 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...
. With its fragmented structure, it does not currently function as a backbone of the city's public transport. The system is owned and operated by Agenzia per i Trasporti Autoferrotranviari del Comune di Roma (ATAC SpA).
Network
The key node of the tram network in Rome is Porta MaggiorePorta Maggiore
The Porta Maggiore , or Porta Prenestina, is one of the eastern gates in the ancient but well-preserved 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome....
, where four out of six lines meet (3, 5, 14 and 19), as well as the Rome-Pantano railway. This is about 1 km east of Roma Termini railway station
Roma Termini railway station
Roma Termini is the main train station of Rome. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian , which lie across the street from the main entrance.-Overview:The station has regular train services to all major Italian cities as well...
, and not connected to the metro network.
The following lines currently run:
2 Piazzale Flaminio ↔ Piazza Mancini
This short line runs through the Flaminio neighbourhood, connecting at Piazzale Flaminio (near the Porta del Popolo) with Line A
Line A (Rome Metro)
Line A of the Rome Metro runs across the city from the north-west terminus of Battistini to the south-east terminus at Anagnina and intersects with Line B at Termini...
and the Rome-Viterbo railway line.
3 Piazza Thorvaldsen (in the Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese may refer to:*The Villa Borghese Pinciana , the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio , developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection.**The Galleria...
) ↔ Trastevere railway station.
Due to maintenance and reconstruction works in the area south of Porta Maggiore, the route is currently replaced with buses. Theoretically, this is the longest line after line 19, going round the city centre in a wide arc from north via east to south-west. At the western endpoint Trastevere railway station, this line connects with the Regional railways (lines 1, 3 and 5), while connections with Metro A are at Manzoni
Manzoni - Museo della Liberazione (Rome Metro)
Manzoni - Museo della Liberazione is an underground station on Line A of the Rome Metro inaugurated in 1980. It is situated under the crossing of viale Manzoni, via Emanuele Filiberto and via San Quintino, in Esquilino rione....
and San Giovanni
San Giovanni (Rome Metro)
San Giovanni is an underground station on Line A of the Rome Metro opened in 1980. The station is located in Piazzale Appio at the beginning of Via Appia Nuova, beside the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, from which the station takes its name...
. There are four connections with metro Line B
Line B (Rome Metro)
Line B is a metro line serving Rome, Italy, and part of the Rome Metro. 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 station, to south, terminating at Laurentina, in the EUR district. It crosses line A at...
: one at Policlinico
Policlinico (Rome Metro)
Policlinico is a station on Line B of the Rome Metro. It is named after the nearby Policlinico Umberto I. It is located in piazza Sassari, on viale Regina Margherita at the corner of via Caserta and via Giovanni Maria Lancisi. It was opened in 1990....
, and three on the stretch Piramide
Piramide (Rome Metro)
Piramide is a station on Line B of the Rome Metro. It was opened on 10 February 1955 and is sited on Piazzale Ostiense just outside Porta San Paolo, in the Ostiense quarter. Its atrium houses mosaics that have won the Artemetro Roma by Enrico Castellani and Beverly Pepper...
-Circo Massimo (Rome Metro)
Circo Massimo (Rome Metro)
Circo Massimo is a station on Line B of the Rome Metro. It was opened on 10 February 1955 and is sited at the east end of the Circus Maximus, after which it is named, near the headquarters of the FAO, originally built as the Ministero delle Colonie. Until 2002 the Obelisk of Axum also stood near...
-Colosseo
Colosseo (Rome Metro)
Colosseo is a station on Line B of the Rome Metro. It was opened on 10 February 1955 and is located, as its name suggests, in the Monti rione on via del Colosseo near the Colosseum. The station is currently involved in the works preparing for the Metro's Line C.Its atrium houses mosaics from the...
, where line 3 follows Metro B on the surface.
5 Roma Termini railway station
Roma Termini railway station
Roma Termini is the main train station of Rome. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian , which lie across the street from the main entrance.-Overview:The station has regular train services to all major Italian cities as well...
↔ Piazza dei Gerani.
This line runs east from Termini railway station. It connects with line A at Termini metro station
Termini (Rome Metro)
Termini is an underground station of the Rome Metro. The station was inaugurated on 10 February 1955, as a station on Line B and later became an interchange with Line A. The station is found in Piazza dei Cinquecento, under the Termini rail terminal...
, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II (Rome Metro)
Vittorio Emanuele is a station on Linea A of the Rome Metro. The station was inaugurated in 1980 and is sited underground, beneath Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, which gives it its name, in the Esquilino rione....
and Manzoni.
8 Largo di Torre Argentina
Largo di Torre Argentina
Largo di Torre Argentina is a square in Rome, Italy, that hosts four Republican Roman temples, and the remains of Pompey's Theatre. It is located in the ancient Campus Martius....
↔ Via del Casaletto.
Line 8 is the newest line of the system, always running with modern stock. It also reaches furthest into the historic city centre, connecting it with Trastevere railway station. Although there are plans to extend the line eastward from Largo Argentina to Stazione Termini, Rome's mayor Alemanno spoke of a new terminus west of Largo Argentina, at Via delle Botteghe Oscure, in August 2010.
14 Stazione Termini ↔ Viale Palmiro Togliatti
This line mostly follows the route of line 5.
19 Piazza Risorgimento ↔ Piazza dei Gerani.
This line connects the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
with the rest of the tram network, following the route of first line 3, and then line 5. It connects with the metro at Ottaviano - San Pietro - Musei Vaticani
Ottaviano - San Pietro - Musei Vaticani (Rome Metro)
Ottaviano is an underground station on Line A of the Rome Metro. Opened in 1980, it was the northern terminus of Line A until 1999. Its complete name is Ottaviano - San Pietro - Musei Vaticani ; formerly it was just Ottaviano - San Pietro.The station is situated at the junction of viale Giulio...
, Lepanto (Rome Metro)
Lepanto (Rome Metro)
Lepanto is an underground station on Line A of the Rome Metro, which is an underground mass transit system. The station was inaugurated in 1980, and is at the junction of viale Giulio Cesare with via Lepanto and via Marcantonio Colonna, in Prati....
(both Line A) and Policlinico (line B). Line 19 is the longest line, connecting with all other tram lines, except for line 8.
History
Rome had horse buses after 1845, when pope Gregory XVIPope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
authorized a line from Piazza Venezia
Piazza Venezia
The Piazza Venezia is a piazza in central Rome, Italy. It takes its name from Cardinal Venezia who built the adjacent Palazzo Venezia, the former embassy of the city of the Republic of Venice....
to the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura to transport pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s. This first line did not run according to a timetable
Public transport timetable
A public transport timetable is a representation of public transport information to assist a passenger with planning a trip using public transport. A timetable details when vehicle will arrive and depart specified locations and may be organised for by route or for a particular stop...
; trams left when they were full. Horse trams arrived in 1877, connecting Piazzale Flaminio with the Ponte Milvio
Ponte Milvio
The Milvian Bridge is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of Milvian Bridge....
, the current line 2.
In 1895, electric trams arrived, connecting Termini station to Piazza San Silvestro. By 1904, all horse tram lines had been electrified - the Ponte Milvio tram last. By 1905, a total of 17 tram lines was operating, using 144 electric vehicles, with a number of horse-drawn trams functioning as backup.
After a few years of competition with the incumbent company SRTO, in 1929, government-controlled company ATAG (Azienda Tranvie Autobus del Governo di Roma) took over the whole network, and by the end of that year, the network had reached its largest extent: no fewer than 59 lines along 140 km of track. As many lines shared parts of their routes, a large reorganization took place in 1930: from then on, two circular lines functioned alongside 24 radial lines, which all started out from the inner ring (the 'black ring'), and crossed the outer ring (the 'red ring'). Within the inner ring, all tram lines were cancelled and substituted by autobuses. 40 kilometers of tracks were dismantled, and part of the older rolling stock was demolished.
After the Second World War, the operating company changed its name to ATAC (Azienda Tranvie ed Autobus del Comune di Roma), but the network kept shrinking. The inner ring was deactivated in 1959; the outer ring only ran in one direction from that year until reconstruction in 1975. The connection Piazzale Flaminio-Ponte Milvio was cancelled in 1960 and reconstructed in 1983 (northern part) and 1990 (southern part). Line 8 was opened in 1998. There are plans to open more lines, including connections from the current northern terminus of line 8 to Termini, and a line from the same terminus towards the Vatican.
Motorcars
- serie 200: two axles, two engines, 102 built between 1895 and 1905
- serie 300: two axles, two engines, 70 constructed between 1902 and 1907; called torpedinieri
- serie 400: two axles, two engines, 79 constructed between 1908 and 1911
- serie 800: only 4 trams
Cars
- serie 1000: 40 two-axled cars, built between 1909 and 1911, scrapped in 1930.
- serie 1100: only four cars, for the serie 800
ATAC stock
This list includes all stock of the ATAC (including that running under its former names AATM, ATM, ATG, ATAG, ATAC or the Trambus brand.)Two-axle motorcars
- 91 motorcars with 6 windows, built 1911-1914. One car is preserved in the Seashore Trolley MuseumSeashore Trolley MuseumThe Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's oldest and largest museum of mass transit vehicles....
in Kennebunkport, MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - 56 motorcars, similar to the above, built 1919-1921.
- 40 motorcars with 7 windows, built 1921-1923
- 280 motorcars, built 1923-1929. One car preserved by the Gruppo Romano Amici della Ferrovia.
Trams in film
In the course of time, hundreds of films have been filmed in Rome, partly due to the presence of the studios at CinecittàCinecittà
Cinecittà is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the hub of Italian cinema.-History:The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi for propaganda purposes, under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte"...
. Trams feature in some of them:
- I soliti ignotiBig Deal on Madonna StreetBig Deal on Madonna Street is a 1958 Italian criminal-comedy film, directed by Mario Monicelli, and considered to be among the masterpieces of Italian cinema. Its original title translates as "the usual unknown persons", a journalistic and bureaucratic euphemism for "unidentified criminals" or...
, 1956 - Roma città apertaRome, open cityRome, Open City is a 1945 Italian war drama film, directed by Roberto Rossellini. The picture features Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani and Marcello Pagliero, and is set in Rome during the Nazi occupation in 1944...
, 1945 - Ladri di bicicletteBicycle ThievesBicycle Thieves , also known as The Bicycle Thief, is a 1948 Italian neorealist film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of a poor man searching the streets of Rome for his stolen bicycle, which he needs to be able to work. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Luigi...
, 1948 - Umberto D.Umberto D.Umberto D. is a 1952 Italian neorealist film, directed by Vittorio de Sica. Most of the actors were non-professional, including Carlo Battisti, who plays the title role...
, 1949 - Totò e Marcellino, 1958
- Io, Chiara e lo scuroThe Pool HustlersThe Pool Hustlers is a 1982 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Maurizio Ponzi. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. It was co-written by Ponzi, male lead Francesco Nuti and established screenwriters Franco Ferrini and Enrico Oldoini...
, 1982 - Tre uomini e una gamba, 1997
- Il ferroviereThe Railroad ManThe Railroad Man is a 1956 Italian language award winning drama film directed by Pietro Germi.It is available on DVD in USA on NoShame films.-Cast:* Pietro Germi - Andrea Marcocci* Luisa Della Noce - Sara Marcocci...
, 1957 - Roma, 1970
- IntervistaIntervistaIntervista is a 1987 film by the Italian film director Federico Fellini.-Plot:Interviewed by a Japanese TV crew for a news report on his latest film, Fellini takes the viewer behind the scenes at Cinecittà. A nighttime set is prepared for a sequence that Fellini defines as “the prisoner’s dream”...
, 1987