Trams in Florence

Trams in Florence
Overview
Locale Florence, Italy
Transit type Tram
Number of lines 1
Number of stations 14
Daily ridership 40,000[1]
Operation
Began operation 14 February 2010
Operator(s) GEST
Number of vehicles 17 AnsaldoBreda Sirio
Headway 4–6 minutes
Technical
System length 7.4 km (4.6 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)[2][3]
Top speed 70 km/h (43 mph)[3]
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 and two others under construction.[4]

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.

Line 1

Route
  • Alamanni-Stazione Santa Maria Novella
  • Porta al Prato-Leopolda Parco della musica
  • Cascine Olmi
  • Paolo Uccello Arno
  • Sansovino
  • Batoni
  • Talenti
  • Federiga Foggini
  • Arcipressi Ronco corto
  • Nenni-Torregalli Lupi di Toscana
  • Aldo Moro
  • Resistenza Pantin
  • De André Ciliegi
  • Villa Costanza
Line Terminals Opened Length
(km)		 Stops
T1 Villa Costanza (Scandicci) Santa Maria Novella 2010 7.4 14

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 17 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
Line 3
Line Terminals Opening
(planned) 		Length
(km) 		Stops
T1 Villa Costanza (Scandicci) Pontignale ? ? 14
T2 Peretola Airport Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia 2016[17] 7.5[3] 18
T3 Careggi Santa Maria Novella 2017?[17] 3.4[18] 9
T4 Santa Maria Novella Le Piagge ? ? ?

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.[19] However, after the recent revisions, the line will probably not pass in Duomo[11] and will run partly underground (4 stops).[20]

Line 2 will be 7.5 km (4.7 mi) long[3] 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

Line 3 will run from Careggi Hospital in the north to Santa Maria Novella railway station, where it will interchange with Line 1 and 2. The line will serve the northern metropolitan area of Florence.[19]

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:[21] 39% of the citizens actually voted. Among them, the majority was against the construction.[22] 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. ↑ "La nuova rete tranviaria di Firenze". MondoTram. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Linea 2 - descrizione" (PDF). Progetto esecutivo - elaborati generali. Comune di Firenze. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "Tornano i lavori della Tramvia". Corriere Fiorentino. 8 October 2010. Retrieved 2 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. 1 2 "Cronoprogramma" [Timetable] (in Italian). Comune di Firenze - Palazzo Vecchio. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Linea 3 - dettagli" (PDF). Progetto esecutivo - elaborati generali. Comune di Firenze. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  19. 1 2 "Tramvia". Amministrazione - Rete civica. Comune di Firenze. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  20. ↑ "Il tram? Diventa sotterraneo". Corriere Fiorentino. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  21. ↑ - Statute of referendums of the municipality of Florence
  22. ↑ "Referendum Tramvia 2008". Comune di Firenze. Retrieved 8 November 2011.

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