Viareggio railway station
Encyclopedia
Viareggio railway station serves the city and comune
of Viareggio
, in the region
of Tuscany
, central Italy
. Opened in 1936, it forms part of the Pisa–La Spezia–Genoa railway, and is also a junction
for a secondary line to Lucca.
The station is currently managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
(RFI). Train services to and from the station are operated by Trenitalia
. Each of these companies is a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato
(FS), Italy's state-owned rail company.
Thanks to its position, the station is the most significant one in the Province of Lucca
. It is an important junction connecting Pisa
, Livorno
and Rome
with La Spezia
, Genoa
, Parma
and Milan
, and providing interchange for passengers to and from all of these cities with trains to and from Lucca
, Florence
and the Garfagnana
. Its catchment area includes much of the Versilia
.
, at the western edge of the city centre.
The present station was opened on 13 June 1936, in the presence of Minister of Communications Antonio Stefano Benni. The passenger building
was designed by the prolific railway station architect Roberto Narducci
, while its construction was entrusted to the company "Ignesti Federico e Figli".
to Gricignano
derailed near the station, causing the explosion of a tank carrying LPG, the collapse of some houses nearby and the deaths of 32 people.
The section of line between Forte dei Marmi-Seravezza-Querceta and Pisa San Rossore was closed to ordinary traffic until 3 July 2009, when repairs were completed to track damaged by the explosion.
The station yard has eight loop tracks. Originally there were ten, but two of them were removed in the aftermath of the 2009 derailment. The four platforms at the station are covered by canopies and connected with each other by a pedestrian underpass. The station also has many monitors showing in real time where and when trains are leaving and arriving.
Track 1 is used for terminating trains, and Track 2 is for passing freight trains. Track 3 is used by through trains from Pisa Centrale
, and Track 4 by direct trains to Pisa. Tracks 5 and 6 are used as the terminus of the Florence–Viareggio line via Lucca
, and Tracks 7 and 8 as a terminus for trains to and from Lucca.
About 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) towards Pisa is the Viareggio Scalo goods yard, now disused.
, express, InterCity
and even a pair of Eurostar City
trains.
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 Viareggio
Viareggio
Viareggio is a city and comune located in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 64,000 it is the main centre of the northern Tuscan Riviera known as Versilia, and the second largest city within the Province of Lucca.It is known as a seaside resort...
, in 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 Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, central Italy
Central Italy
Central 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...
. Opened in 1936, it forms part of the Pisa–La Spezia–Genoa railway, and is also a junction
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 secondary line to Lucca.
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 to and from the station 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.
Thanks to its position, the station is the most significant one in the Province of Lucca
Province of Lucca
The Province of Lucca is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca.It has an area of 1,773 km², and a total population of 372,244...
. It is an important junction connecting Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
with La Spezia
La Spezia
La Spezia , at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of northern Italy, is the capital city of the province of La Spezia. Located between Genoa and Pisa on the Ligurian Sea, it is one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and hosts one of Italy's biggest military...
, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and providing interchange for passengers to and from all of these cities with trains to and from Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and the Garfagnana
Garfagnana
Garfagnana is an historical region of Italy, today part of the province of Lucca in the Apennines, in northwest Tuscany, but before the unification of Italy it belonged to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, ruled by the Este family. For a short time, in the 16th century, it was governed by the poet...
. Its catchment area includes much of the Versilia
Versilia
The Versilia is a part of Tuscany in the north-western province of Lucca, and is named after the Versilia river.Known for fashionable Riviera resorts, it consists of numerous clubs that are frequented by local celebrities....
.
Location
Viareggio railway station is situated in Piazzale Dante AlighieriDante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
, at the western edge of the city centre.
History
The original Viareggio station was opened in 1861. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was inadequate for the role of trade and tourism that the city was taking at that time. As early as 1889, the comune of Viareggio had proposed the construction of a new, more central, facility, that could provide "more prestige and dignity to the city."The present station was opened on 13 June 1936, in the presence of Minister of Communications Antonio Stefano Benni. The passenger building
Station building
A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger train station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers.A station building is not to be confused with the station itself...
was designed by the prolific railway station architect Roberto Narducci
Roberto Narducci
Roberto Narducci was an Italian architect and engineer of the Modernist and Novocento movements.-Life:...
, while its construction was entrusted to the company "Ignesti Federico e Figli".
Derailment in 2009
On 29 June 2009, shortly before midnight, freight train no. 50 325 from TrecateTrecate
Trecate is a comune in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 90 km northeast of Turin and about 9 km east of Novara....
to Gricignano
Gricignano di Aversa
Gricignano di Aversa is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 15 km north of Naples and about 13 km southwest of Caserta.-References:...
derailed near the station, causing the explosion of a tank carrying LPG, the collapse of some houses nearby and the deaths of 32 people.
The section of line between Forte dei Marmi-Seravezza-Querceta and Pisa San Rossore was closed to ordinary traffic until 3 July 2009, when repairs were completed to track damaged by the explosion.
Features
The passenger building has a ticket counter, ticket machines, a police station, a bar, and a kiosk. In the square in front of the building is a bus stop for buses and taxis.The station yard has eight loop tracks. Originally there were ten, but two of them were removed in the aftermath of the 2009 derailment. The four platforms at the station are covered by canopies and connected with each other by a pedestrian underpass. The station also has many monitors showing in real time where and when trains are leaving and arriving.
Track 1 is used for terminating trains, and Track 2 is for passing freight trains. Track 3 is used by through trains from Pisa Centrale
Pisa Centrale railway station
Pisa Centrale railway station is the central station of the Italian city of Pisa. The station is one of the major railway junctions of Tuscany. Lines serving the station include three long-distance lines: the Pisa–Livorno–Rome line, the Pisa–La Spezia–Genoa line and the Pisa–Florence line. Local...
, and Track 4 by direct trains to Pisa. Tracks 5 and 6 are used as the terminus of the Florence–Viareggio line via Lucca
Lucca railway station
Lucca railway station is the main station in Lucca and is located on the Florence–Viareggio line and is the terminus of lines to Pisa and Aulla. These lines are served by regional trains only. The station has five platforms for passengers...
, and Tracks 7 and 8 as a terminus for trains to and from Lucca.
About 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) towards Pisa is the Viareggio Scalo goods yard, now disused.
Passenger and train movements
The station is served by numerous trains: regionalRegional rail
Commuter rail, also called suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates between a city center, and the middle to outer suburbs beyond 15km and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of commuters—people who travel on a daily basis...
, express, InterCity
InterCity
InterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...
and even a pair of Eurostar City
Eurostar Italia
Eurostar Italia is a network of Italian high-speed inter-city trains, operated by Trenitalia . Trenitalia states that there are 130 train journeys per day....
trains.
See also
- History of rail transport in Italy
- List of railway stations in Tuscany
- Rail transport in ItalyRail transport in ItalyThe 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 ItalyRailway stations in ItalyRailway 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:...