The Ferrovie Udine-Cividale (the unfortunately-abbreviated FUC) have a fleet of two Siemens Eurosprinter electric locos, which have a daily passenger diagram between Italy and Austria.
E190 301 and E190 302 are the two machines concerned; both “class 1216s” obtained by FUC in 2011 largely for the “Mi-Co-Tra” (“Miglioramento dei Collegamenti Transfrontalieri” project, the EU-funded upgraded operation on the cross-border artery from Trieste, through Udine to Villach.
Two round trips between Udine and Villach have been provided daily since Summer 2012 as part of a joint operation between FUC and ÖBB, powered by one of the E190s. Only one of the locos is planned to be used in passenger service each day. Other trains on the cross-border route are formed of Railjets with very similar ÖBB class 1216s.
These trains generally convey a bike van in their short formations, and indeed cyclists out to pursue their hobby in the middle of the Alps account for a significant chunk of the trains’ clientele. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, these services are extended through to Trieste, an Adriatic port city.
The diagram
The diagram for these workings is as follows (Sat, Sun and public holiday variations in brackets):-
The timetable document can be found on the FUC website here.
These services form something of a local stopping service through Villach’s suburbs, so can be covered entirely in Austria with very little time outlay should you just be interested in getting the loco “in the book”.
Italy has had a fascinating array of electric locomotive types over the years; some of the pre-war classes even lasted in main line service until the 21st century, but these are all now just museum pieces.
Happily, a number have passed into preservation, so they have not totally disappeared. One of the most famous classes of “prehistoric” electric loco in Italy are the E626s, and there are numerous opportunities through 2018 to ride behind them on relatively cheap specials.
The above is a link to a YouTube video of E626-266 in action last year, uploaded by Michele D’Alterio.
A series of Sundays right through 2018 are advertised to see top-and-tail E626s work with vintage carriages on recurring tourist specials organised by “Fondazione FS” in the Napoli (Naples) area. This itinerary is called the “Pietrarsa Express”, and consists of two round trips from Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, calling at Pietrarsa en route, which is home to the Italian national railway museum. The train ticket includes entry here, which looks well worth a visit (list of exhibits here).
Traction
The publicity for these workings specifies top-and-tail E626s. However, of the four such machines that performed on these workings in 2017 – E626-185, E626-266 (both built 1927), E626-294 (1928) and E626-428 (1939), two of them suffered serious vandalism damage. Both ‘266 (27th February 2017) and ‘185 (4th August 2017) were robbed of their copper – leaving just ‘294 and ‘428 operational. In the event of either being unavailable, I would expect E646-028 or E646-196 to substitute.
Tickets
A return ticket on the “Pietrarsa Express” costs €12 adult or €6 child, single fares are half that but do not include museum entry. Under 4s go free.
Tickets for these can be purchased in advance from the Trenitalia website, where they are listed alongside normal service trains, but with the annotation “Treno Storico”. Some dates have already sold out; others are not yet on sale.
Times and Dates
The diagram is as follows:
96059 11:12 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano
96058 13:54 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Centrale
96061 14:35 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano
96060 17:33 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Centrale
Operating dates for 2018 are advertised as:
Sunday 7th January 2018
Sunday 21st January 2018
Sunday 4th February 2018
Sunday 18th February 2018
Sunday 4th March 2018
Sunday 18th March 2018
Sunday 8th April 2018
Sunday 22nd April 2018
Sunday 6th May 2018
Sunday 20th May 2018
Sunday 3rd June 2018
Sunday 17th June 2018
Sunday 1st July 2018
Sunday 15th July 2018
Sunday 5th August 2018
Sunday 19th August 2018
Sunday 2nd September 2018
Sunday 16th September 2018
Sunday 7th October 2018
Sunday 21st October 2018
Sunday 4th November 2018
Sunday 18th November 2018
Sunday 2nd December 2018
D445-1076 arrives at Chivasso on an Aosta to Torino service, 02/08/06. This part of Italy no longer sees diesel loco haulage on passenger trains, and indeed the loco has since been shipped over to Sardegna. (JW)
One European country that does not get much press in terms of the passenger diesel haulage that it has to offer is Italy. Perhaps this is with good reason, as the sole remaining mainline diesel class with passenger diagrams – the Fiat class D445 – is, if we’re honest, not the most exciting. Nevertheless, sitting in “proper” coaching stock behind a diesel loco is still a wholly sociable way to see this most scenic of countries.
150 of these little 2,090hp four-axle diesel-electrics were built between 1974 and 1988 in three batches; D445-1001 to D445-1035 by Savigliano in 1974-75, D445-1036 to D445-1055 by Reggiane in 1981-83, and D445-1056 to D445-1150 by O.ME.CA between 1985 and 1988. All are fitted with 12-cylinder Fiat power units (the first 35 have a slightly different variant to the latter 115).
Not all 150 remain in passenger use. D445-1008 was the first withdrawal through accident damage sustained after the tragic, fatal head-on collision with a DMU near Crotone on 16th November 1989, followed by D445-1146 which derailed after hitting a car at Brancaleone on 22nd September 1997 (the car itself had been involved in an RTA on the adjacent road and had ended up on the permanent way). Others have fallen by the wayside since – two in particular have succumbed to severe fire damage; D445-1072 in Firenze in 2005 and D445-1097 just recently at Asti on 13th October 2017.
As of 2017, 19 have passed to the freight sector with Mercitalia Rail (formerly Trenitalia Cargo) and work predominantly over unelectrified lines in the north of the country. Their sphere of passenger work is certainly contracting.
The above is a link to a YouTube video uploaded by user 251Aloha showing D445-1075 departing Mede in fairly typical D445 style…
The main aim of this article is to give a little overview of where D445 haulage can still be enjoyed, so I will deal with each relevant area of Italy in turn.
Toscana (Tuscany)
The area of Italy with the most D445 passenger activity is coincidentally also the one most visited by tourists – Toscana – which means that combining a “normal” family holiday with some diesel haulage would not be that difficult. They work on two routes, both radiating from Firenze (Florence) – that to Siena via Empoli, and that to Borgo San Lorenzo via Pontassieve.
According to the excellent E656.net website, D445-hauled trains to/from Firenze booked to be are as follows:-
Firenze, the capital of Toscana, hosts approximately 16 million tourists each year, so it must be worth a visit! Equally, Siena, as a medieval city (and, to a lesser extent, Empoli en route there), is on the tourist trail and so if you are staying in Firenze on a family holiday, this may be somewhere to recommend for a day trip in order to get your diesel haulage fix “by stealth”!
The above is a link to a YouTube video uploaded by user Luca Eseicinquantasei showing D445-1089 departing from Firenze Santa Maria Novella.
Veneto
Further north is the region of Veneto which sees more D445 action centred on the city of Padova – a tourist destination in itself, but less than half an hour by train from Venezia (Venice). As an aside, one of my travel tips to those visiting Venezia on a “normal” holiday would be to do as my fiancee and I did recently, and stay on the “mainland” – even taking into account the train travel across the causeway to the famous city of islands and canals, this is far cheaper than trying to book a hotel in Venezia itself. We stayed in Mestre, but Padova would be equally suitable (and would put you in position for some diesels, should you wish!).
The routes from Padova to Treviso Centrale, to Bassano del Grappa, and to Montebelluna all see D445 power. In basic terms, they operate early in the morning and then through the afternoon and evening. Booked trains according to E656.net are as follows:-
Padova to Bassano del Grappa: 06:12 / 14:16 / 17:16 / 18:16 / 19:16
Bassano del Grappa to Padova: 06:36 / 07:36 / 08:40 / 15:40 / 18:40 / 19:40
Bassano del Grappa is home to the Ponte Vecchio, a famous covered wooden bridge, which is only about a 10-minute walk from the station. It is increasingly getting a reputation as a “hidden gem” of a tourist destination, which usually means that it won’t remain “hidden” for long. Either way, the fact that diesels work trains there might hopefully mean that they are easier to weave into a family holiday – even if the timings are not exactly helpful…
There is also a diagram on the Treviso to Belluno route (which passes through Montebelluna along the way) – 07:34 from Belluno and 18:35 return from Treviso. Both of these trains connect in and out of D445-powered trains to and from Padova at Montebelluna.
The above is a link to one of garedeshimbashi‘s YouTube videos of D445-1142 departing from Padova in 2010.
Calabria
Right at the other end of Italy, two long-distance trains in Calabria retain D445 haulage for the time being.
IC558 08:13 Taranto to Reggio di Calabria Centrale, and the balancing working IC562 11:55 Reggio di Calabria Centrale to Taranto, each take approximately 6.5 hours and hug the coast for the entire way, around the Gulf of Taranto. However, it has been known for one or other of these trains to be substituted by a DMU, so beware!
Puglia (Apulia)
The branch shuttle from Foggia to the coastal town of Manfredonia, on the east coast at the top of Italy’s “heel”, is reported (again on E656.net) as still booked to feature D445 traction on summer Saturdays, the rest of the time being DMU-worked or even bustituted. The most recent confirmed report of a D445 working on the branch that I am aware of (thanks to Ed Beale) was of D445-1060 performing on 26th August 2016.
For the record, the services shown as D445-powered are those departing from Foggia at 07:05 / 09:05 / 11:05 / 13:05 / 16:05 / 18:05 and returning from Manfredonia 40 minutes later. If you do happen to see these trains on your travels, I would be very interested in learning what was working them (as I’m sure the relevant gen groups would be, too!).
Sardegna (Sardinia)
The last area in this list is arguably the most interesting. A small fleet (believed to now consist of six operational machines – D445-1038/1053/1055/1076/1119/1129) of D445s works on Sardegna, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Their use is exclusively at the southern end of the island, centred on its capital, Cagliari. The bulk of their work is between Cagliari and San Gavino, but also on the branches to Carbonia and Iglesias, along with one (peak hour) diagram to Oristano, further up the main line that connects the north of the island with the capital.
Once again, E656.net lists the booked workings to/from Cagliari as follows – mainly in the morning peak, in the middle of the day, and again in the evening peak:-
To finish, a link to a YouTube video from tergv200 showing D445-1119 with an excursion at Golfo Aranci – part of the Sardinian rail network that no longer sees loco haulage under normal circumstances.
It is well known that examples of British Rail classes 14, 20, 37, 47, 56, 58, 59, 66, 77, 86, 87 and 92 have been exported to countries on the continent, and indeed some still operate on freight services in their adopted homes. However, less well known is that another TOPS-numbered “BR” machine from the 1970s remained in front-line passenger-carrying service in Italy until 2017.
OK, so maybe this is scraping the barrel somewhat, but it gives a small example of the very many things of wider railway interest that can be found in Europe with little difficulty.
15 British Rail train ferries gained TOPS numbers as “class 99”; of these, only four remained in service at the beginning of 2017 – one in Canada, one in the United Arab Emirates, one in Cyprus, and one in Italy. The latter was 99013 – the former MV Saint Eloi – and it was withdrawn in March.
Saint Eloi began its story on 24th November 1969, when a ro-ro passenger and train ferry was ordered by Sealink’s French subsidiary, the Société Anonyme de Navigation Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace (ALA). Named after the patron saint of metalworkers – to whom a large church in Dunkerque is dedicated – after protracted delays the vessel finally entered service on the Dover to Dunkerque route on 12th March 1975. Saint Eloi, as well as the ALA, became fully owned by the British Railways Board on 23 March 1977.
As a multi-purpose ship, Saint Eloi was mainly used for freight services, but also conveyed the Wagons-Lits sleeping cars of the London to Paris and Brussels “Night Ferry” service, which ended in October 1980. She sailed her last voyage on the Dunkerque route on 24th April 1988, being switched to the Dover to Calais route, where her train ferry capability would not be required. After a brief sojourn covering other ships for refit in the Irish Sea, she was renamed Channel Entente, but her service in the Channel under this guise was to be short-lived.
She was sold to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in 1990, and she was quickly pressed into service on that company’s services between Douglas and Heysham and Liverpool. Later in the year, she was sent for refit and was renamed King Orry, and settled in as a Manx staple throughout the 1990s.
The King Orry’s final day in service with the “Steam Packet” was 28th September 1998, after which she was sold to the Italian firm Moby Lines. She sailed to the Ligurian Sea the next month and gained the name Moby Love and a rather garish white livery, prominently featuring the line’s whale logo (as in Moby Dick!).
In April 1999, she entered service on Moby’s route between Piombino, on the western coast of Italy south of Pisa, and Portoferraio, on the island of Elba – and she remained in use on this route until March 2017, when she sailed to Genova, where she is now laid up.
The above is a link to a video uploaded to YouTube by JustFerries showing the ferry in its final guise.
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Italy has had a fascinating array of electric locomotive types over the years; some of the pre-war classes even lasted in main line service until the 21st century, but these are all now just museum pieces.
Happily, a number have passed into preservation, so they have not totally disappeared. One of the most famous classes of “prehistoric” electric loco in Italy are the E626s, and there are numerous opportunities through 2017 to ride behind them on relatively cheap specials.
The above is a link to a YouTube video of E626-266 in action last year, uploaded by Michele D’Alterio.
A series of Sundays right through 2017 see top-and-tail E626s work with vintage carriages on recurring tourist specials organised by “Fondazione FS” in the Napoli (Naples) area. These are on two itineraries – firstly, the “Reggia Express” which sees a simple out-and-back run from Napoli to Caserta, a town approximately 30 miles north that contains a UNESCO world heritage site in the form of its Royal Palace (the train ticket includes entry here), and also the vaunted Caroline Aqueduct. It has also been the filming location for parts of various movies in the Star Wars and Mission:Impossible franchises.
The “Reggia Express” departs from Napoli Centrale at 10:00 and arrives back at 18:05. A return ticket costs €18 adult or €9 child, single fares are half that. Under 6s go free.
The other itinerary is the “Pietrarsa Express” which is more of a day of shuttling up and down along the coast of the Bay of Naples, rather than a true out-and-back to a single destination. This shuttles between Napoli Campi Flegrei, through Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, calling at Pietrarsa en route which is home to the Italian national railway museum. The train ticket includes entry here, which looks well worth a visit (list of exhibits here).
A return ticket on the “Pietrarsa Express” costs €12 adult or €6 child, single fares are half that but do not include museum entry. Under 4s go free.
Tickets for these can be purchased in advance from the Trenitalia website, where they are listed alongside normal service trains, but with the annotation “Treno Storico”. Some dates have already sold out; others are not yet on sale.
Four machines have worked on these trains during 2017 so far – E626-185, E626-266 (both built in 1927) and E626-294 (1928) and E626-428 (a mere youngster, dating from 1939!) – although, obviously, only two of them on any given day. To note, the loco on the back in each direction is pan-down, so if you want them both for haulage, you need to travel in both directions. Edit: ‘266 was sadly robbed of its copper on the night of 27th February 2017, so is currently out of action. Further edit: ‘185 was similarly violated on the night of 4th August 2017.
Here is a list of forthcoming workings and links to more information (in Italian):-
Sunday 04/06/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 11/06/17
10:00 Napoli Centrale to Caserta and 17:05 return. “Reggia Express”. Link.
Sunday 18/06/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 02/07/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 16/07/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 06/08/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 20/08/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 03/09/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 10/09/17
10:00 Napoli Centrale to Caserta and 17:05 return. “Reggia Express”. Link.
Sunday 17/09/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 01/10/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 08/10/17
10:00 Napoli Centrale to Caserta and 17:05 return. “Reggia Express”. Link.
Sunday 15/10/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Monday 12/11/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 12/11/17
10:00 Napoli Centrale to Caserta and 17:05 return. “Reggia Express”. Link.
Sunday 19/11/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 03/12/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
Sunday 17/12/17
10:25 Napoli Centrale to Portici-Ercolano, 12:49 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei, 14:20 Napoli Campi Flegrei to Portici-Ercolano and 17:50 Portici-Ercolano to Napoli Campi Flegrei. “Pietrarsa Express”. Link.
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European Traction 
