- Milan-Monza railway line
The Milan-Monza railway line is one of the oldest railways in
Italy . It was the first railway in Northern Italy, then part of theLombardy-Venetia puppet state of theAustrian Empire , opening in 1840 and consisting of 12.8 km in length.In November 1839 the Austrian Emperor
Ferdinand I of Austria authorized construction of the railroad by Impresa Holzhammer, owner the noble Giovanni Putzer. Planning was by the Italian engineer Giulio Sarti. In one year the railroad was built with two stations, the Porta Nuova Station inMilan and the Monza Station. The line was opened for service on August 17, 1840. The average duration of travel between the two stations was 19 minutes.The railway equipment included three English
steam locomotive s, named "Lombardia", "Milano" and "Lambro", and 21 passenger cars.From Monza the line branches to the
Gotthard Pass and theValtellina region.
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