Metropolitana di Roma

Infobox Public transit
name = Metropolitana di Roma

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imagesize = 70px
locale = Rome
transit_type = Rapid transit
began_operation = 1955
ended_operation =
system_length = km to mi|38|abbr=yes|precision=0
lines = 2
vehicles =
stations = 48
ridership =
track_gauge =
reporting marks =
operator =
owner =

The Metropolitana di Roma is an underground public transportation system that operates in Rome, Italy. It opened in 1955. There are currently two lines, A line (identified by the orange colour) and B line (blue). A third service, the green C line, and a new branch of the B line, are currently under construction. Plans have also been revealed even for a fourth line. The current network (38 km) has an X-shape with the two currently existing line intersecting at Termini Station, the main train station in Rome.

The operator of the Rome's metro system, "Met.Ro. - Metropolitana di Roma S.p.A.", also operates several suburban rail services: the Roma-Lido, the Roma-Pantano and the Roma-Nord lines. The first of these the Roma-Lido line, which connects Rome to the sea at Ostia, is effectively part of the metro network, is run along similar lines and uses trains similar to those in service on the A and B lines. The Roma-Pantano line, although officially designated as a railway, is a narrow gauge tram line while the Roma-Nord line is a suburban railway.

Rome's metro system is considerably less developed when compared to many European capitals and has only 38 km of track in comparison to 150 km in Berlin and 400 km in London.

Metro lines

Line B

Notwithstanding its name, the B line was in fact the first metro line in Rome. The line B connects the north-east of the city with the south-west. It currently has 22 stations with terminuses at Rebibbia and Laurentina (just east of EUR). Its distinguished by the colour blue.

The B line was planned during the 1930s by the Fascist government in search of a rapid connection between the main train station, Termini and a new district to the south-east of the city, E42, the planned location of the Universal Exposition (or Expo), which was to be held in Rome in 1942. The exposition never took place due to Italy's entrance into the Second World War in 1940. When works were interrupted some of the tunnels on the city-centre side of the metro (between "Termini" and "Pyramide") had been completed and were used as air raid shelters during the war.

Work on the metro began again in 1948, in concert with works on turning the space, formerly designated for the Expo, into a commercial district under the name EUR. The metro was officially opened on 9 February 1955 by the then President of the Republic Luigi Einaudi. Regular services began on the following day.

In 1990 the B line was extended from Termini to Rebibbia to the east of the city and the entire line was modernised.

Line A

The A line connects the north-west of the city with the south-east. It currently has 27 stations with terminuses at Battistini and Anagnina. Its distinguished by the colour orange.

Approval was given for the construction of the Rome's second metro line in 1959. Subsequently called the A line it would run roughly perpendicularly to the existing metro line, now called the B line.

Works on the A line began in 1964 in the "Tuscolana" area but were subject to a series of delays caused by poor organisation. Above all, the originally planned method of construction of cut and cover posed serious problems for road traffic in south-east Rome. Work on the metro was suspended and began again 5 years later, using bored tunnels which partially resolved the traffic problems but caused numerous claims for compensation arising for vibrations caused by the boring machine. Work was also frequently interrupted by archaeological finds made during the excavations, particularly near "Piazza della Repubblica".

The A line finally entered into service in February 1980. In the late 1990s it was extended from Ottaviano in Prati to Battistini to the west.

Other lines operated by the metro company

Roma-Lido

Construction of the Roma-Lido line began shortly after the end of the first world war and was completed some six years later in 1924. It began operation as a steam locomotion railway but electrification was completed less than a year later.

The line currently is operated an integrated part of the metro system, but is entirely overland. It runs from the "Roma Porta San Paolo" station beside the Pyramide metro B line station and runs alongside the B line as far as EUR Magliana. It then continues separately on to the seaside town of Ostia. The line terminates beside the end of "Via Cristoforo Colombo".

Roma-Giardinetti

Officially termed a railway, the Roma-Giardinetti line is a narrow gauge tram which connects Laziali (a regional train station some 800 metres from Temini's main concourse) with Giardinetti to the east just past the "Grande Racordo Annular", Rome's ring-road. The line originally ran to Frosinone some 137 km from Rome, but has been gradually reduced in length, most recently when the section from Giardinetti to Pentano, which will become a permanent part of the new C line metro, was taken out of service.

Roma-Civita Castellana-Viterbo

The Roma-Civita Castellana-Viterbo line (sometimes called the Roma-Nord line) began life as narrow gauge tram running from "Piazza della Libertà" in Rome to Civita Castellana. However the next stretch of the line, to Viterbo, was built as a railway and over the years the tram section was converted into a railway as well. A process which concluded with the moving of the Roman terminus from the street-level terminus at "Piazza della Libertà" across the river to a new underground station in "Piazza Flaminia", beside the subsequently constructed metro A line station, after the Second World War.

The line is currently operated in two modes: as an urban service from "Piazza Flaminia" to Montebello, and as an suburban service from "Piazza Flaminia" to Viterbo. The urban service operates with a frequency of about one train every 10 minutes. While the suburban service operates considerably less frequently with less than a third of the trains making the full two and a half hour journey from Rome to Viterbo.

Future prospects

The C Line

Currently under construction, the C line is intended to run from Grottarossa, north of the Vatican, to Pantano previously the terminus of the Roma-Gardinetti tram line. The C line will be the first metro line to extend beyond the Comune of Rome. The C line will intersect with the A line at Ottaviano beside the Vatican and at San Giovanni. And with the B line at the Colosseum. It will also intersect with the planned D line at Piazza Venezia, creating a second metro hub in Rome.

Phase one of the C line is the furthest from the centre and is due to open in 2011 with 15 out of the planned 30 in service from Centocelle to Pantano. Phase two will extend the line to Piazza Lodi with a further 6 stations in service and is planned to open in 2013. While the third and final phase which will complete the line is due to open in 2012. [According to the [http://www.romametropolitane.it/Brochure%202007%20ing.pdf Brochure] of Romametropolitana, the body charged with planning and construction of the metro system.]

Dates are obviously subject to change. Rome is one of the oldest cities in the world and the construction of the metro system has encountered considerable obstacles owing to the frequent archaeological discoveries. While the excavation of the metro tunnels themselves can be undertaken beneath the probable location of most archaeological finds, the excavation of stairways and air vents which of necessity have to connect to the surface, pose difficulty.

References

ee also

* List of rapid transit systems
* List of Rome metro stations
* 2006 Rome metro crash

External links

Maps

* [http://www.atac.roma.it/linee/mappe/ferro.zip Rome's metro and FR lines map (contained in a zip file)]
* [http://www.atac.roma.it/linee/images/metro_map.gifUnderground and suburban lines]
* [http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/rom/roma-map-proj.gifProposed Lines C & D]
* [http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/7729/bigromatuq0.jpgPlanned underground and suburban lines within 2020]
* [http://idisk.mac.com/eurocity/Public/Intermetro_Roma_1986.jpgPlanned underground and suburban lines on 1986]

Other

* [http://www.romametropolitane.it Roma Metropolitane - Public transportations website]
* [http://www.atac.roma.it/ The Public transport company of the city of Rome]
* [http://www.stazionidelmondo.it Metro and railways stations of Rome]
* [http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/rom/roma.htm Rome's entry on the urban transport site Urban Rail]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/sets/72157594585604471/ Martin G. Conde, ROME – IMPERIAL FORA. The Velia Hill: Metro ‘C’ Archaeological Surveys (2006-2007). S10 (b1, b2, b3). (2006-2007)]