Cagliari light rail

Metrocagliari
A Škoda 06 T tram at Monserrato-San Gottardo station
Overview
Locale Cagliari, Italy
Transit type light rail
Number of lines 2
Number of stations 13
Operation
Began operation 17 March 2008[1][2]
Operator(s) ARST Gestione FdS
Number of vehicles 6 Škoda 06 T
Technical
System length 12 km
Track gauge 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in)
Electrification 750 V DC[2]
System map
Metrocagliari map

The Cagliari light rail system, commercially known as Metrocagliari, is a two-line light rail system that serves the town of Cagliari and part of its metropolitan area, in Sardinia, Italy. The system was inaugurated in 2008[1] and has subsequently been expanded to two lines.

History

The Cagliari light rail system was created through a rebuilding, electrification, and modernization of an urban-suburban section of a previously existing 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in) gauge railway line operating out of Cagliari, owned by Ferrovie della Sardegna.[3] The first stage involved rebuilding, as a light rail line, the 6.8-kilometre (4.2 mi) section between that line's Cagliari terminal station, at Piazza Repubblica, and Monserrato. The work included adding stations, installing overhead lines, and adding passing tracks in some locations along the single-track line. Once the construction was completed and the vehicles ready for use, a much greater frequency of service than existed previously on the line would be introduced, using the new trams and stops.

Construction began in June 2004 and was substantially completed in May 2007.[2] A fleet of six Škoda 06 T trams was purchased,[3] and they were delivered in 2007.

Service was inaugurated on 17 March 2008[1] on the initial route of 6.8 km (4.2 mi) between Piazza Repubblica, in Cagliari, and San Gottardo station, in Monserrato.[3] The route had nine stations at that stage. An extension from Monserrato to Policlinico was already under construction at that time, but that project was not yet fully funded.[3] A contract for the purchase of three additional trams was awarded in 2013 to Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), for a five-section, 32.9-metre-long Urbos 2 model.[4]

On 14 February 2015, line 1 was extended from San Gottardo to Policlinico[5] (University Hospital),[6] adding two stations and increasing the total number of stations to eleven.

The next extension opened less than two months later, and was another upgrading and electrification of an existing section of diesel railway line, from San Gottardo to Settimo San Pietro. Light rail service on that section began operation on 3 April 2015 and is designated as line 2.[7]

Planned extension of the line into central Cagliari, from Piazza Repubblica to Piazza Matteotti and the Cagliari railway station of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, is in the final design stages and it is projected that the work may begin in 2017. This extension is very significant, because it will connect the tramway with the transportation hub of the city, home to the train and suburban buses station, and hub for local bus services.

Former tram system

Cagliari had a tram system from 1893 to 1973. At its maximum extent it had six lines.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Worldwide Review [regular news section]". Tramways & Urban Transit. Vol. 71 no. 845. LRTA Publishing. May 2008. p. 193. ISSN 1460-8324.
  2. 1 2 3 "Progetto definitivo - Metropolitana leggera di Cagliari Linea 2" [Final design – Cagliari light metro Line 2] (PDF) (in Italian). ARST Gestione FdS. November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Another new tramway in Sardinia". Tramways & Urban Transit. Vol. 71 no. 844. LRTA Publishing. April 2008. p. 153. ISSN 1460-8324.
  4. ↑ "Worldwide Review [regular news section]". Tramways & Urban Transit. Vol. 76 no. 909. LRTA Publishing. September 2013. p. 398.
  5. ↑ "Metropolitana, oggi inaugurata la tratta San Gottardo-Policlinico" [Metro: Inaugurated today the section San Gottardo–Policlinico]. L'Unione Sarda (in Italian). 14 February 2015. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  6. ↑ Chiandoni, Marco (February 19, 2015). "Cagliari opens light rail extension". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  7. ↑ "Metrocagliari: inaugurazione Linea 2 - Tratta San Gottardo Settimo San Pietro" [Metrocagliari: Line 2 inauguration – San Gottardo to Settimo San Pietro section] (in Italian). ARST. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2017-06-08.

Further reading

  • Lai, Rossano (2005). "Metrotranvia a Cagliari". i Treni (273): 21–25.
  • "Una rete di metrotranvia per l'Area Vasta di Cagliari" (PDF). Regione Autonoma della Sardegna.
  • "Accordo di programma per la metropolitana dell'Area vasta di Cagliari" (PDF). Regione Autonoma della Sardegna.

Coordinates: 39°13′00″N 9°07′00″E / 39.2167°N 9.1167°E / 39.2167; 9.1167

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