Sardinia Narrow-Gauge

[daveklepper]

Jack May <[e-mail]>

To:Jack May

 

 

Nov 19 at 3:52 PM

Monday, April 11

 

Our excellent breakfast was taken in the B&B's rooftop garden, with great views of the harbor.  Unlike the preceding day, several other families also spent the night at the Marino di Castello.  With the weather warm and sunny, we decided to leave the car parked (I bought some more chits for the dashboard) and use public transportation for our activities; I would cover Cagliari's new tramway while Clare would visit various museums.  Cagliari is Sardinia's largest city, with about 160,000 inhabitants.

The 950 mm-gauge MetroCagliari's route operates almost entirely on reserved track; there is no street running whatsoever.  The just under 8-mile system is a little complicated to explain (but I'll try).  The major part of its route is over the right-of-way of the southern end of a narrow-gauge railway that had been cut back from the city center and now has been converted to electric traction (4+ miles).  The balance of the system consists of new construction (1+ miles, mostly elevated) and shared usage with diesel trains over a short part of the railway's remaining portion, i. e., a tram-train operation (2 1/2 miles).

The railway, formerly the Ferrovie della Sardegna (FdS), but now integrated into Sardinia's public transit system, the Azienda Regionale Sarda Trasporti (ARST), was built to the Italian narrow gauge standard of 950 mm starting in 1888.  [This is the same gauge as the Circumetnea (which we rode the previous Tuesday) and other lines like the Circumvesuviana (Naples) and Rome's Fiuggi interurban (which was seriously truncated and now operates only to the city limits.)]  The FdS/ARST comprises Sardinia's secondary railway system (standard-gauge Trenitalia is the primary) and operates over various unconnected segments on the island, principally through mountainous areas.  In the last half century it was pruned down, but still covers a substantial number of route miles (380).  In this section of the report we are only concerned with the portion of the ARST that operates in the Cagliari area--there will be descriptions of other line segments in succeeding chapters.

But this is as good a place as any to provide the reader with a little background on ARST.  The organization was founded back in 1970 to take over a number of failing bus lines in the rural and suburban areas of Sardinia, many operated by SITA, the Italian Greyhound-style over-the-road bus company.  Under government ownership, it gradually grew, taking over other rubber-tired operators and also provided bus substitution as the FdS began to shed rail passenger services and also abandon lines outright.  In the years shortly after 2000 the Sardinian government decided it wanted to have a single entity to run regional public transportation and soon the remaining narrow-gauge railways were taken over.  In 2010 rail and bus were integrated into today's ARST. 

As far as the 950-mm gauge rail lines are concerned, only the busiest ones continue to have regularly scheduled passenger service, and that includes the new tramways in both Cagliari and Sassari.  However, with many of the lines traversing spectacular mountain scenery and tourism becoming a major player in the island's economy, in 1989 it was decided to continue passenger operation over that secondary trackage on an "as needed" basis.  As a result, starting in 1995 four such lines have regularly scheduled service in the summer season, with the organization encouraging charters, which are managed by local commercial travel agencies, religious, social and civic organizations, as well as promoters of rail journeys for rail enthusiasts the world over.  These services are called Green Trains, or Trenino Verde.  To get this going steam locomotives were restored, track was rebuilt and rolling stock was renovated.  Much of the funding for this came from Italy's national tourism organization, ecological groups and the European Union.  Our visit was just on the edge of the beginning of such trips for 2016; had we planned to visit Sardinia a few weeks later, no doubt we could have (and probably would have) participated in one of the scheduled charters, which are usually combined with sightseeing and visits to restaurants for good food and drink.

The FdS originally ran from the Maritime District of Cagliari (location of our accommodations) northward through the city and its suburbs, continuing on to various rural villages, and ending for all practical purposes, in the town of Isili, some 50 miles north.  After World War II the increase in motor traffic brought about the usual decrease in patronage and therefore the conversion of certain branch lines from rail to bus to reduce costs.  That, combined with the need for urban renewal in the center of Cagliari, resulted in the railway being cut back in 1968 from its old Viale Bonaria terminal to Piazza della Repubblica, about a mile north of the Mediterranean and city center.  At the same time new shop and servicing facilities were built in the suburb of Monserrato.  In the next three decades further traffic congestion and the desire for swifter and more attractive 'green' transportation eventually brought about the conversion of the section of line between Repubblica and Monserrato to modern electric light rail, taking advantage of the right-of-way that runs directly between the two points (compared to local bus lines operating through narrow twisting streets, some with steep grades).

The new light rail system between Repubblica and Monserrato, christianed MetroCagliari, was inaugurated on March 17, 2008.  At that time diesel railcar service to Isili was cut back to the San Gottardo station in Monserrato, with an across-the-platform connection.  This was the first step in a plan that in 2015 would extend the light rail line further to Policlinico and electrify the railway to Settimo San Pietro to create a tram-train operation.

Skoda supplied ARST with 5 double-ended, 5-section 70-percent low-floor trams, which are maintained in the Monserrato-San Gottardo complex.  Ever since the system reached its present configuration in 2015, 2 services have been operated:  route 1 between Repubblica and Policlinico and route 2 between San Gottardo and Settimo San Pietro (SSP).  They connect at San Gottardo (see http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/ it/cagl/cagliari.htm for details).  Route 1 service runs every 20 minutes in base periods and on weekends, while 10-minute headways are operated during extended rush hours on weekdays.  Route 2 runs every 20 minutes, but on weekdays diesel railcars that run beyond SSP to Dollanova, Gesico and Isili substitute for the trams on those schedules.  Diesel railcar service does not operate on Sundays.

Apparently the line from Repubblica was mostly double track originally, but today's tram route is now almost entirely single track south of San Gottardo.  There are 7 way stations on this segment with most containing passing tracks.  A further 4 stations bring the total to 11, not counting SSP on the tram-train.  It is remarkable how well the 10-minute frequency is maintained over the single track.  (Metro West in Lausanne, Switzerland also operates a single track line with 10-minute headways.)  That said, on the negative side I found the Skoda Elektra 06T cars noisy and rough riding when compared to LRVs in service on similar lines in other parts of Europe--and North America as well.  At least no graffiti is smeared over them, unlike the right-of-way and ARST's diesel railcars, which have this abomination to various degrees.  Apparently 3 additional trams have been ordered to beef up service--Urbos units from CAF.

I purchased a day ticket at a tobacconist and rode a trolleybus to Repubblica.  The facade of the station blends in with the other buildings, so it took me a few moments to locate the entrance, which is outfitted with a manned window supplying transit information and tickets.  I first rode all the way to the end of route 1 at Policlinico (a bit over 20 minutes), where a university makes the outer terminal a major traffic generator.  Ridership was quite decent, with many students also connecting from the diesel railcars and tram-trains at San Gottardo to get to their classes.  I then worked my way back, stopping for photos.  Finally, I rode the route 2 tram-train to SSP and also spent a while at San Gottardo to photograph the diesel railcars.  There seemed to be more service on the SSP line than what is enumerated in the public timetable, but it is possible that the extra trains I saw were "second sections" of scheduled trips.  The ride on the single-track line from San Gottardo to SSP takes 6 minutes, and the trams lay over at both terminals for 4 minutes.  I returned to the B&B to meet Clare for some afternoon activities at about 14:00.


I have too many photos of the operation for attaching to a single email transmission, so I am limiting the illustrations for this segment to route 1; the next part of the trip report will contain photos of the San Gottardo area and the tram-train operation.  The photos below follow the route from south to north.  While the photographic angles on most of them are similar, each one is included to illustrate various aspects of the line.



Piazza della Repubblica, the southern terminal of MetroCagliari, contains a center platform serving two stub-end tracks.  Even during 10-minute headway periods, it is rare that the left side track is used, which explains its rust.  This passenger whisked by me as he ran and just missed a Policlinico-bound tram.



Route 1 is double tracked from its Repubblica terminal to this point just north of Gennari, the first stop.  An inbound tram is shown hurtling through verdant surroundings. 




Above and below:  Most of route 1's passing sidings are on either side of various station platforms, although a few are between stops.  The width of the right-of-way indicates that a second track may once have been in place along these parts of the line.  The upper view is just north of Mercalli station, while the lower view is more interesting, showing a double-crossover with the unwired track leading nowhere.  Note that both tracks are embedded in the grade crossing's pavement, which is a common sight on the line--even where there is no crossover.  This photo was taken just north of Vesalio station.







This view of the rear of a Polyclinico-bound tram just south of the Centro Comerciale stop emphasizes the width of the line's right-of-way.  Note the mountain in the background.

:  The mall adjacent to the Centro Comerciale station is a major traffic generator for the line.  The sign shown in the upper view is the only one of its type at way stations, and it contains a map and a timetable.  Similarly, the lower photo shows the station's hexagonal brick platform and its covered waiting area.






Lastly, an inbound car is shown operating through a section of line that is clearly not wide enough for double-track operation.  It is approaching the platform of the Redentore station in the suburb of Monserrato.

[Electroliner 1935]

daveklepper

The photos below follow the route from south to north.

When I try to open the photos, I get  ACCESS DENIED. What do I need to do to get access?

[daveklepper]

Some servers automatically block attachments from Near-Eastern locations, assuming a strong possibility of virus-injection or hacking.  Note this time Jack May's email address is the top of the posting, and you can request this report and others, some not transferred to this tread and website, directly from him.  You will find him both helpful and glad to make your acquaintance.

[daveklepper]

We continue with more photos of Cagliari's tramway, at the outer ends of the 2-line system (seehttp://www.urbanrail.net/eu/it/cagl/cagliari.htm).



The modernistic Policlinico terminal of route 1 is on an elevated structure within the town of Monserrato.  The tracks and the structure abruptly end, but someday may be extended.



An inbound route 1 car has left Policlinico and is about to enter the Dell'Argine station, which also contains a center platform.



The elevated structure begins at the San Gottardo station in Monserrato.  The wires at the far right are above the tramway's storage tracks outside the carhouse and shop.



Monserrato-San Gottardo is a way station for route 1, and a terminal for both route 2 tram-trains and diesel railcars.  Since this is a telephoto view, certain features are contracted.  In the right foreground the single track used by the combined (at this point) route 1 to and from Repubblica and route 2 to and from Settimo San Pietro, flare out into two, and are served by separate platforms at the station.  Those tracks continue onto the elevated structure and are used by route 1 to get to Policlinico.  Route 2 cars follow the same path as the route 1 streetcar shown in the photo, and after discharging passengers, take the switch leading into the yard and carhouse.  However, they lay over just beyond the outbound platform (you can see one peeking out) and when they head back to Settimo, they use both switches so they can stop at the near platform to pick up passengers.  It is difficult to see the non-electrified track behind the fence on the far right, but it is used as a stub-end terminal for diesel ARST/FdS railcars.  Off the edge to the right of the photo, the single track will eventually split back into two, with one track heading (right) for Repubblica and the other (left) to Settimo.  At that point an electrified track (not shown) connects route 1 and route 2, making this section into a wye, which is rarely used (the rails were rusty).  I can kick myself for not taking a photo of the remainder of the track layout.

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  Diesel railcars on the non-electrified stub track at San Gottardo await passengers transferring from the tramway.  No. 03 in the upper view represents one of eight ARST self-propelled units, the ADe90 class built by Breda in 1995.  These are the newest on the system.  Apparently car 93 has been renumbered 03.  The photo below shows one end of the streamlined-looking ADe01 series built by Fiat in1957.  I suspect the air conditioning units were retrofitted.  






The 13:10 departure seemed to be operating in two sections in this view at Monserrato-San Gottardo.  A Breda-built1995 railcar is at left, while the Fiat streamlined unit seems to belie its 1957 construction date.  The photo was composed carefully so the graffiti on the Fiat car is mostly hidden, thereby both illustrating and slightly disguising ARST's image problem.



Breda-built railcar 94 at the Settimo San Pietro station, way out in the country.  Tram-trains terminate at an electrified stub track behind the photographer.