Some hints for Rome's railway planning

Talking about specific interventions, in a poor city like Rome BRT could be a valid solution. I personally do not like busses, probably because I've always taken a lot of them and I've often gotten off almost upset, but if environmental conditions suggest using busses, why not? To me tramways are always the best solutions, but if money is not there (and there isn't...), so be it BRT! Of course, Minority-Report like PRT are cool, but how feasible are they under present economic conditions?


I also have to admit I have a crush on undergrounds, if I can use this expression. Rome may have problems with regard to the construction of stations and air intakes, but not for tunnels, because tunnelling can be done at a deeper level than archaeological findings. However, the construction costs are huge, unless we talk about light metros. In fact, for Rome I dream one day it would be possible to rebuild and improve the dense tram network that was dismantled at the end of 60s (because we all had to buy a FIAT), therefore avoiding crap and backward projects like trolleybuses (circulating only in Slovakia and Poland!). Also driven by the paradigm that combining two lines one can obtain exponential benefits, I truly hope one day it would be possible to complete the rail ring on the north side of the city (thus also doubling the "Lift" of regional rail that affects Rome) and connect with a city rail tunnel of around 7 kms the "Rome - Ostia Lido" light railway (in the south of Rome) with the light railway that starts in Flaminio square going to Viterbo (in the north), almost like Londoner "CrossRail": a rapid urban underground train, fast also due to the few (3?) stations along its journey through the centre of Rome, few stations that therefore also solve the problem of archaeological findings. For where building one of them, I have in mind to build one station under the Vittoriano - the monument in Piazza Venezia built gutting a previous embankment, and there are no findings below it - just for providing of dignity and decency that dreadful typing-machine-like monument wanted by the Savoy conquistadors ;)

Moreover, I dream of the regional (and urban) railway connecting the port of Civitavecchia (on the north-west coast of the Roman Metropolitan Area) to the city of Frosinone (at the end of the FR6), crossing the railways that lead to Fiumicino Airport (FR1), Nettuno (FR8) and Formia (FR7), and the three-pronged FR4 that connects Rome to the so called “Castelli Romani”, thus having an incredible network effect. A total line of around 150 kms with just 20 kms of new built railway! That will double the lift of trains on many tracks

I think it would be a very affordable project, with huge advantages for a wide part of the population living in the Metropolitan Area of Rome.

Starting in Civitavecchia (52,244 inhabitants at 31-03-2011), and stopping in Santa Marinella (18,397 at 31-12-2010) and Ladispoli (41,401 in June 2011) on the FR5, at the Maccarese station the train should get on the (partially?) abandoned track that leads to the Ponte Galeria station (on the Orte-Fiumicino FR1) running for 12,5 km next to “della Muratella” road. Once gotten at Magliana train station, a 2 kms diversion (including a new rail bridge over the Tiber river) should connect the line to the Metro B, letting the train stopping at Eur Fermi station (next to the new built “Nuvola” congress palace). One can foreseen a further stop at Laurentina station (where many regional busses have their final stop). From there, it should be necessary to build a new track leading to Ciampino, and this would probably be the most expensive part, although it mostly were a light railway. Ideally a new station should be planned close to the new Ministry of Defence on “dell’Esercito” road (less that 5 kms away from Laurentina station), and then crossing the open fields of the Appia Antica archaeological park for reaching Torricola station (on the Rome-Formia line, the FR7 + FR8 to Nettuno) 5kms later, building some other 8 kms of new railway (including a tunnel under the GRA motorway) for getting to Ciampino station, hub of the FR4 and FR6 lines.

PS: check RFI projects (http://www.rfi.it/cms-file/allegati/wip-romatiburtina/nodoRoma2.pdf), which don’t seem to be very different from my perspective.