Good evening everyone! This time I'm here to propose a very special route. We are in Northern Italy, in the Liguria Region. One of the most beautiful and fascinating places in this country. The route winds through the so-called "Cinque Terre"; a series of 5 small villages, perched on the cliffs overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. This is a section of the much more extended Genoa-Pisa Railway, also known as the Tyrrhenian Railway. The section that I propose today goes from La Spezia Centrale to Sestri Levante, near Genoa. It's called the Cinque Terre Railway. This is one of the most famous Italian railway routes, both for the enchanting territory that the railway crosses (Cinque Terre) and the tortuous path, full of tunnels/overhangs over the sea, that characterize it. GENERAL FEATURES The route in question boasts 41.1km / 25.5mi of track. The line is served by double track (standard gauge - 1435 mm/4 ft 8+1⁄2 in), electrified 3kV DC (the standard voltage of all ordinary Italian networks). The entire path is equipped with Automatic Signal Repeat, Automatic Lock and SCC. The line is managed by RFI (Italian Railway Network), as regards the infrastructure. The passenger service is operated by Trenitalia s.p.a. The freight service is operated by Mercitalia Rail s.p.a, Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal (La Spezia area), DB Cargo Italia s.r.l and more private operators. ROUTE AND STATIONS The route has 13 stops, including those at the beginning and end of the route. The stops are as follows: - La Spezia Centrale, km86* - Riomaggiore, km79* - Manarola, km78* - Corniglia, km76* - Vernazza, km73* - Monterosso, km70* - Levanto, km66* - Bonassola, km63* - Framura, km60* - Deiva Marina, km57* - Moneglia, km53* - Riva Trigoso, km48* - Sestri Levante, km45* *Distance from route origin, Genoa (Km0) Each stop has two, three or four platforms, except Sestri Levante and La Spezia Centrale. These have 7 and 8 platforms respectively. Some of these stops, such as Vernazza, feature partial-underground stations. There are 27 galleries! Some of them are long, literally passing under the picturesque villages that occupy the beautiful coast. ROUTE PLAN PASSENGERS SERVICE There are different types of passenger service on this route: - Trenitalia Regional Service (R): from La Spezia Centrale to Sestri Levante, from Sestri Levante to La Spezia Centrale (stops all stations). - Trenitalia Regional Fast Service (RV): from Genoa Piazza Principe to La Spezia Centrale, from La Spezia Centrale to Genova Piazza Principe (stops only the main stations). - Cinque Terre Express Trenitalia: from La Spezia Centrale to Levanto, from Levanto to La Spezia Centrale (Stops all stations). - Trenitalia Intercity Service (IC): from Genoa to Pisa, From Milan to Rome, from Turin to Rome etc... (Stops only in Sestri Levante and La Spezia Centrale). There are also Frecciarossa and Frecciabianca services, but they pass without stops through this section of the line. Stopping only in La Spezia Centrale. There are approximately 50-60 services/day, including: 30 Regional services, 9/18* Fast Regional services, 11/12* Intercity services and around 10 Cinque Terre Express services. * Summer time ROLLING STOCK Below I list the most common units you can see on this route, but there are many more. - ETR 485 "Pendolino" Electric Tilting Train, for Frecciargento services - ETR 521 "Rock" EMU, for Regional and Fast Regional services - ETR 104 "Pop" EMU, for Regional and Cinque Terre Express services Continue below...
- FS E.464 Electric Locomotive, for Fast Regional and Intercity services The following coaches can be coupled to the E.464 locomotive: Regional/Fast Regional services - MDVC/MDVE - NCDP/CDPTR "Vivalto" - FS E.402B Electric Locomotive, for Intercity services The following coaches can be coupled to the E.402B locomotive: - UIC-Z1 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES STRONG POINTS -The line is quite long. - The line allows regular services of approximately one hour. - Good number of services during the day. - Good mix between direct Intercity services and local commuters. - Enchanting and complex landscape. - Line with a high level of challenge for the player (challenging braking, slopes, tunnels, continuous changes in speed limit etc...). - Good variety of rolling stock used. WEAK POINTS - The line is half made up of tunnels. - The line features a complex and challenging landscape to model, with many objects and details to create. - The line doesn't allow you to take advantage of the high-speed services transiting on it. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, I want to highlight that this route presents a unique landscape, halfway between the sea and the hill/mountain. Even if all this is only visible between one tunnel and another. However, what you see from the window will leave you speechless for a while . If you also like the beautiful places that this wonderful country can offer you, then this is the route that's right for you! Let me know yours, if you liked this introduction. And don't hesitate to ask me anything about it! Caravatt. PS. Below here, I will put some photos of the line and the landscape.
Yes, you're right. And then, continuing towards Genoa, passing through San Remo, Ventimiglia you arrived in France. But that's another route! Excellent trains, except the "terrible" Rock... It's like the English IES 8xx. There's no shortage of problems with these Hitachis! The others, made by Alstom, work great!
Bring it on and for the DLC ETR600/ETR610 E412 locos. That way owners of ETR610 and E412 locos can change the 15kv 16.7hz routes by Introducing Italy bound services. On the Italian trains that are 15kv 16.7hz AC capable the Copper 1.45m strip is used for both Italian 3kvDC and 15kv AC SBB while the Metalized Carbon strip 1.95m is for DB and ÖBB 15kv 16.7hz
It's an excellent proposition for the game. I had also proposed the same route plus other lines, such as the Milan - Bologna or Rome - Naples. Unfortunately I don't think we will see Italian routes soon due to a licensing problem. Congratulations for the nice, detailed and detailed post.
I agree with you but for the Como-Chiasso Route it's actually goes into Switzerland basically forming the Gotthardbahn International section
Given that it's almost certain that the next Swiss route could be the Gotthardbahn, it might be nice to also create the route on the Italian side. In this way both the ETR600 and the RABe 503 could be introduced.
for the etr 610 I don't think there are any problems given that some trains have been purchased by the FFS. same thing for the RABe 503. if you want the Trenitalia livery of the ETR 610 you just have to wait for them to create it on the creators' hub
