Paris1972-Versailles2003

Oh well a while back I told you about the buses of Rome, Italy. Well we have taken the train to Lido and metro, so will keep the souvenir in my blog by telling you about the transports of Rome, train station, metro and tramway. We preferred the bus for info. Hope you enjoy it

The Termini train station of Rome is the most important railway station in Rome and Italy and one of the busiest in Europe. It is managed since 1998 by the company Grandi Stazioni, a subsidiary of the Italian State railways (Ferrovie dello Stato) .The name of the station does not mean terminus, but derives from the nearby Diocletian thermal baths.

The station is located on Esquiline Hill on the site of a populous neighbourhood of the 2C, later abandoned, which included rural estates of patrician families. During the 16C, the Villa Montalto-Peretti was built there, owned by Cardinal Felice Peretti (who was later a Pope under the name of Sixtus V). The villa was later acquired by the Massimo family, who ceded it to the Vatican when it took shape in the 19C, the plan to build a large train station. The first temporary station was built in 1862. The final construction was carried out from 1867. In 1938, the final project for the construction of a new railway infrastructure was approved, the original construction proving insufficient to meet the requirements of an ever increasing number of travellers . The works were interrupted in July 1943 and the work, which lacked only the monumental hall on the square and a side access overlooking the via Marsala reserved for the royal family, was not finished until the Jubilee of 1950. The high structure facing piazza dei Cinquecento, where the ticket office and restaurant are located on the ground floor and offices on the upper floors, is the result of a competition launched in 1947, The ornament on the border of the glass and reinforced concrete awning protecting the ticket office was done later.

The Termini station wing that runs along Via Giovanni Giolitti has been renamed ala mazzoniana or Mazzoni wing, especially since it is the only part of the station whose architecture fully corresponds to the original project. And after several years of abandonment , the room originally intended for the ticket office as well as that intended for the restaurant, surmounted by a gigantic hood covered with marble, were restored in 2000. The dead end rail terminal includes 24 platform tracks dedicated to national and international trains, plus four other tracks for regional lines in Lazio (including the famous Rome – Pantano line) as well as the Leonardo Express train which provides a direct connection with Fiumicino airport.   Termini station is easily accessible by many bus and tram lines. In addition, by Termini station, it is served by the metro lines A and B that cross there underground, as well as by five of the eight regional rail lines in Lazio region run by Ferrovie regionali del Lazio – FR. Anecdote I like as saw the movie is that in 1953, the Termini station was the scene of the shooting of the eponymous film Station Terminus (Stazione Termini ) directed by Vittorio De Sica.

Trenitalia travel by trains in Italy on Termini in English: Travel by train from Trenitalia on Termini

The shopping gallery at Termini Station for info in English: Termini station Rome on Shopping gallery

A popular trains site Seat 61 well explain in English: Seat 61 on Termini station Rome

This train line we took! nice ride! The Roma Lido to Ostia Antica , located 30 km from Rome, Ostia Antica was one of the Roman villas most prosperous as it was an important commercial port.   The Roma–Lido railway is a line connecting the Porta San Paolo Station in Rome to Lido di Ostia, Rome’s seaside neighborhood. The railway is 28. km long, stops at 13 stations has interchanges with Metro Line B at Piramide (where we took it) , Basilica San Paolo and EUR Magliana. Outside the Greater Rome Area, it stops in the neighbourhoods of Tor di Valle, Vitinia, Casal Bernocchi, Centro Giano, Acilia and Ostia Antica. Then, it proceeds to Ostia itself, where it stops at five stations. It terminates at Cristoforo Colombo..

The line began on December 20, 1918 and the official ceremony for the start of the work was done a few days after the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III. The king also laid the first stone of the future station at Ostia on December 10, 1920 .Due to heavy pressure from the government and Benito Mussolini in person, by then head of government, the line was inaugurated on August 10, 1924.The inauguration of the Rome Metro line B enabled Ostiense Magliana station to serve both the Metro and the Roma Lido line. Later, the Roma Lido line was extended all the way to Termini train station.

The metro or subway or Underground we took briefly as well.

The Rome Metro or Metropolitana di Roma is the metro/subway/tube of Rome. Inaugurated in 1955, making it the oldest metro in Italy, it currently includes three operating lines, for 60 km of tracks and 75 stations. There is the Line A connects Battistini to Anagnina. Line B joins Laurentina and Jonio, as well as Rebibbia . Line C, with automatic control, links Monte Compatri – Pantano to San Giovanni in the city center. It is   managed by the company Azienda Tramvie ed Autobus del Comune di Roma (ATAC S.p.A.), controlled by the city of Rome.    The inauguration, however, never took place because of the entry into WWII of Italy in 1940. The works resumed in 1948 while the exhibition district became a business district and took the name of EUR, acronym of the exhibition. The line was inaugurated by the President of the Republic Luigi Einaudi on February 9, 1955.

A bit of overall on the metro lines which for me took briefly the line A and several times the line B are

Line A (we tried it) with 27 stations and 18.4 km connects the west of Rome near the Vatican to the popular suburbs of the southeast. From Battistini terminus to Anagnina terminus, the main stops are: Ottaviano – San Pietro – Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica). Flaminio ( Piazza del Popolo and Villa Borghese park). Spagna ( Spanish Steps). Barberini , Via Veneto (Trevi Fountain). San Giovanni (Lateran Basilica of Saint John). Cinecittà (cinema city). The line is completely underground except for a bridge over the Tiber river.

Line B with 26 stations and 23.1 km including 13 km underground connects the terminals of Laurentina in the south of Rome to Rebibbia and Jonio in the north. Two services are operated: from Laurentina to Rebibbia and vice versa, as well as from Laurentina to Jonio and vice versa. The main stops are: EUR Fermi, in the district built for the 1942 Universal Exhibition (EUR) which never took place. Basilica San Paolo ( Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls). Garbatella   ( Centrale Montemartini museum). Piramide ( access to Ostiense station, the Pyramid of Cestius and the Testaccio). Circo Massimo (serving the FAO headquarters), Colosseo (Colosseum station). Tiburtina, suburban station of Tiburtina) , Ponte Mammolo ( bus station).

And the newest Line C operating since 2014.with 15 stations , then six others opened in 2015. It was not until 2018 that the line C joined with line A, with the opening of the San Giovanni station. Line C now links San Giovanni to Monte Compatri – Pantano for 19 km and serves 22 stations. Fully automated, and follows an important part of the route of the old railway line linking Rome to Fiuggi.

Metro of Rome webpage in  Italian: Metro of Rome

The Rome tramway is a tram network that serves Rome and part of its metropolitan area. About 10 km long, the 6 tram lines total almost 200 stations Some trains still in use date from 1931. The 6 lines which, curiously, are not numbered from 1 to 6 but take the numbers 2, 3, 5, 8, 14 and 19. Here are the details of the lines: Line n ° 2, from Piazzale Flaminio to Pizza Mancini. Convenient to get to the north of Rome. Line 3, (we tried it) from Piazza Thorvaldsen to Stazione Trastevere. This line is interesting for its Ostiense, Testaccio, Colosseum, San Giovanni, San Lorenzo and Villa Borghese stops. Line 5, from Termini central station to Piazza dei Gerani. Line 8, from Piazza Venezia to Via del Casaletto. and you can go to Trastevere. Line n ° 14, from Termini central station to Viale Palmiro Togliatti. Line 19, from Piazza Risorgimento to Piazza dei Gerani. It is the longest with a course of 14.3 kilometers. Line 19 directly links Pigneto and San Lorenzo to Villa Borghese and the Vatican.

Tramways is part of Rome’s public transport and works on the same principles as buses or the metro. Therefore all at ATAC webpage.

Official transports of Rome ATAC in English: Official transports Rome ATAC

A map from ATAC pdf file for metro, trains, and trams:  Official ATAC map of transports

Mobility webpage in Rome in Italian plenty here if you can translated: Mobilita Roma transports in Rome

So now you have an overall view of the transports in Roma, the idea is to walk but if need to there is plenty. As said , we prefer the bus fun and above ground, but for the tourist curious you can try them all. Rome is worth it. Hope you enjoy the tour.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!