Battipaglia–Metaponto railway


The Battipaglia–Metaponto railway is an Italian long railway line, that connects Rome, Naples and Battipaglia with Potenza, Metaponto and Taranto. It's a commonly used trans-apennine linkage.

History

The line was opened in stages between 1863 and 1880.
DateSection
14 June 1863Battipaglia - Eboli
1 December 1874Eboli- Contursi
15 June 1875Metaponto - Pisticci
30 September 1875Contursi–Romagnano
15 November 1875Pisticci–Ferrandina
10 April 1876Ferrandina–Grassano
3 June 1877Romagnano–Balvano
1 August 1877Grassano–Calciano
6 November 1877Balvano–Baragiano
15 January 1880Baragiano–Picerno
1 September 1880Picerno–Potenza
27 December 1880Potenza–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 didn't start using the line until 31 March 1994. In 1995 a service was launched using Eurostar ETR 450.

Usage

The line is used by the following service: