The Battipaglia–Metaponto railway is an Italian railway line long that connects Rome, Naples and Battipaglia with Potenza, Metaponto and Taranto. It is a commonly used trans-apennine linkage.
History
The line was opened in stages between 1863 and 1880.
Date Section 14 June 1863 Battipaglia - Eboli 1 December 1874 Eboli- Contursi 15 June 1875 Metaponto - Pisticci 30 September 1875 Contursi–Romagnano 15 November 1875 Pisticci–Ferrandina 10 April 1876 Ferrandina–Grassano 3 June 1877 Romagnano–Balvano 1 August 1877 Grassano–Calciano 6 November 1877 Balvano–Baragiano 15 January 1880 Baragiano–Picerno 1 September 1880 Picerno–Potenza 27 December 1880 Potenza–Calciano
In 1944 the deadliest accident in Italian railway history, the 8017 convoy Battipaglia-Potenza, happened on this line with over 500 victims.
Upgrades
Between 1986 and 1993 the railway was closed to allow for major works to upgrade the line, during which it was electrified. Electric trains however did not start using the line until 31 March 1994.I treni, n. 167, January 1996. In 1995 a service was launched using Eurostar ETR 450.
Usage The line is used by the following service(s):
Intercity services Rome - Naples - Salerno - Potenza - Taranto Regional services (Treno regionale) Naples - Salerno - Potenza - Metaponto - Taranto
References Footnotes
Sources
See also List of railway lines in Italy