Railways in

Sicilia

Sicily

A Newag Vulcano diesel multiple unit of Ferrovia Circumetnea, near Bronte

Sicilia (English: Sicily) is an island autonomous region of Italy, located just off the southern tip of the mainland.

The first railway in Sicily opened in 1863 between Palermo and Bagheria, a distance of 11km. It was built to standard (1435mm) gauge. Most further development of the island was to this gauge, although an important local railway between Catania and Riposto, the Circumetnea, took a lengthy (115km) inland route to the north of Mount Etna and was built to 950mm gauge. A train ferry linked the standard gauge network at Messina with that of mainland Italy from 1896.

Horse trams operated in Messina and Palermo from an early date. Their systems were electrified around the beginning of the 20th century, and other tram systems opened in Catania and Trapani. All these systems had closed by the early 1950s.

In 1999, a 4km standard gauge metro opened in Catania. The first line of a modern tramway network opened in Messina in 2003; that of a similar network in Palermo opened in 2015.

• Trenitalia standard gauge services on the island
• Circumetnea the Circumetnea local railway and the 4km standard gauge Catania Metro
• Messina trams (Site in Italian)
• Palermo trams (Site in Italian)

© 2004-2020 Glyn Williams
Photo image © Neel Bechtiger from the Bahnbilder website