Trams in Florence

Trams in Florence
Overview
Locale Florence, Italy
Transit type Tram
Number of lines 1
Number of stations 26
Daily ridership 40,000[1]
Annual ridership 13 million (2015)[2]
Operation
Began operation 14 February 2010
Operator(s) GEST
Number of vehicles 17 AnsaldoBreda Sirio
Train length 32 m
Headway 4–6 minutes
Technical
System length 11.5 km (7.1 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)[3][4]
Top speed 70 km/h (43 mph)[4]
System map

The Florence tramway network (Italian: Rete tranviaria di Firenze) is an important part of the public transport network of Florence, Italy. It consists of one operational light rail line; a second line is currently under construction.

Florence, like many other Italian cities, closed down its old tramway network at the end of the 1950s, but has come back to trams in recent years to find a solution to the rising car traffic in the city. The first line in the present network was opened in 2010 to link the city center with the neighboring comune of Scandicci.

The current network operator is GEST (Gestione Servizio tramviario), a public company owned by ATAF[5] (49%) and RATPdev (51%), subsidiary of the French RATP.[6]

History

1879–1958

The first horse-drawn tramway in Florence was inaugurated on 5 April 1879. It linked the city center to Peretola. One year later the original line was extended to reach Prato and Poggio a Caiano. The tramway was managed by Società dei Tramways Fiorentini.[7]

In 1898 the company bought out Tranvia del Chianti company and in the same year the lines were electrified.

In 1926 the tram was considered already obsolete, and the first bus routes started. In 1934 the company responsible for the service went out of business.[8]

During the Second World War the tramway was severely damaged, and the network was fully restored only in 1951. From the end of the war the tramway was managed by ATAF. However, after few years the infrastructure was deemed too old and inadequate, and the tramway was definitively closed on 20 January 1958.[9][10][11]

Modern tramway (2010)

During the beginning of the 2000s (decade), the Florence administration decided to restore the tram service.

Works on the first line started on December 2005.[12] Construction works were expected to last for 1,000 days, but eventually it took more than 1,800 days to complete the line.[13] Line 1 started operation on 14 February 2010. On 16 July 2018 it was extended from Florence Santa Maria Novella railway station to the current northern terminus, Careggi.

Line 1

Route
  • Villa Costanza
  • De André Ciliegi
  • Resistenza Pantin
  • Aldo Moro
  • Nenni-Torregalli Lupi di Toscana
  • Arcipressi Ronco Corto
  • Federiga Foggini
  • Talenti
  • Batoni
  • Sansovino
  • Paolo Uccello Arno
  • Cascine Olmi
  • Porta al Prato-Leopolda Parco della musica
  • Alamanni-Stazione Santa Maria Novella
  • Valfonda
  • Fortezza Fiere e Congressi
  • Strozzi Fallaci
  • Statuto
  • Muratori Stazione Statuto
  • Leopoldo
  • Poggetto (only towards Careggi)
  • Vittorio Emanuele II (only towards Careggi)
  • Pisacane (only towards Villa Costanza)
  • Dalmazia (only towards Villa Costanza)
  • Morgagni Università
  • Careggi Ospedale
Line Terminals Opened Latest extension Length
(km)		 Stops
T1 Villa Costanza (Scandicci) Careggi 2010 2018 11.5 26

The first part of the line, at Scandicci, is the first rail public transport service in the area.

During the first 10 months of service, the total passenger served were 7 million, a result which has been considered a success.[14]

Service starts at 5:30 and stops at 0:30. The headway is 4 minutes from 7:30 to 20:30 and 6 minutes elsewhere.[15] A journey from end to end takes about 23 minutes.

Technical summary

The rolling stock consists of 19 AnsaldoBreda Sirio, already in use in other cities in Italy and around the world. The route is mainly on reserved lanes.[16] Stops are located at a distance of 300–400 m.

Future plans

Map of the planned tramway
Line 2
LineTerminalsOpening
(planned)		Length
(km)		Stops
T1 Villa Costanza (Scandicci) Pontignale ? ? 14
T2Peretola AirportPiazza dell'Unità d'Italia2016[17]7.5[4]18
T4Santa Maria NovellaLe Piagge2018??

Line 1 extension

An expansion from Scandicci towards Casellina and Pontignale is planned. The new terminus will be near an exit of the A1 motorway. A Park & Ride will also be built.

Line 2

Line 2 will run from the airport to the new Florence High-speed rail station and then to Santa Maria Novella railway station, where it will interchange with line 1. From that point the line run through the city center in two different branches, also serving the Duomo in the initial planning.[18] However, after the recent revisions, the line will probably not pass in Duomo[11] and will run partly underground (4 stops).[19]

Line 2 will be 7.5 km (4.7 mi) long[4] and will be fundamental in connecting the Airport to the new High-speed rail station and in serving the city center, which is planned to become mainly pedestrian.

Line 3

The name Line 3 was used for the Line 1 section between Santa Maria Novella and Careggi. This section was fully opened on 16 July 2018 and it has now been incorporated into Line 1.

Line 4

Line 4 is the long-term plan which will complete the city tramway. The line will have a terminus at Santa Maria Novella railway station and will serve the western part of the city.

Controversies

There were some people who opposed the new tramway lines 2 and 3. A city referendum was held on 17 February 2008. The statute of city referendums do not contains any "quorum" clause:[20] 39% of the citizens actually voted. Among them, the majority was against the construction.[21] The municipality decided to disregard the result of the referendum.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ogni giorno 40mila passeggeri sulla tramvia fiorentina". Comune di Firenze - News. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "Statistiche". mobilita.comune.fi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "La nuova rete tranviaria di Firenze". MondoTram. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Linea 2 - descrizione" (PDF). Progetto esecutivo - elaborati generali. Comune di Firenze. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Azienda Trasporti Area Fiorentina, is the public transport company of Florence. Official website
  6. ↑ "Chi siamo". GEST. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "La nostra storia - 1865-1890". ATAF. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "La nostra storia - 1913-1934". ATAF. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "La nostra storia - 1945-1966". ATAF. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Domenica 14 febbraio parte la tramvia. Numeri e curiosità". Nove da Firenze. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  11. 1 2 "Linee 2 e 3 della nuova tramvia di Firenze". Consorzio Toscano Cooperative. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "La nostra storia - 2000-2005". ATAF. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "In quarantamila su Sirio". Corriere Fiorentino. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "Tutti pazzi per Sirio Boom di viaggiatori in tram". la Repubblica Firenze. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "Orari". GEST. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  16. ↑ "Caratteristiche generali del sistema tramviario" (PDF). Comune di Firenze. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  17. ↑ "Cronoprogramma" [Timetable] (in Italian). Comune di Firenze - Palazzo Vecchio. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Tramvia". Amministrazione - Rete civica. Comune di Firenze. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  19. ↑ "Il tram? Diventa sotterraneo". Corriere Fiorentino. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  20. ↑ - Statute of referendums of the municipality of Florence Archived 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ↑ "Referendum Tramvia 2008". Comune di Firenze. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2011.

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