Regional Bus and Rail Company of Canton Ticino

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The FART SA (Italian : Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi SA, English: Regional Bus and Rail Company of Canton Ticino Ltd) is a limited company in the Swiss southern canton of Ticino, which provides the urban and suburban bus network in and around Locarno in Switzerland. It operates the cable cars between Verdasio and Rasa, Ticino, and between Intragna – Pila – Costa on behalf of the owning companies. Together with the Italian company Società Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie S.p.A. (SSIF) they operate the railway through the Swiss Centovalli and the Italian Valle Vigezzo, which connects the Gotthard trans-Alpine rail route at Locarno railway station with the Simplon trans-Alpine route at Domodossola in Italy. There are 10 stations on the Swiss side of the frontier and 12 stations on the Italian side, the complete rail journey takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Italian language Romance language

Italian is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. Italian, together with Sardinian, is by most measures the closest language to Vulgar Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria. It formerly had official status in Albania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro (Kotor) and Greece, and is generally understood in Corsica and Savoie. It also used to be an official language in the former Italian East Africa and Italian North Africa, where it plays a significant role in various sectors. Italian is also spoken by large expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia. Many speakers of Italian are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages.

Canton of Ticino Canton of Switzerland

The canton of Ticino, formally the Republic and Canton of Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Ticino borders the canton of Uri to the north, the canton of Valais to the west, the canton of Graubünden to the northeast, Italy's regions of Piedmont and Lombardy to the south and it surrounds the small Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia.

Locarno Place in Ticino, Switzerland

Locarno is a southern Swiss town and municipality in the district Locarno, located on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore at its northeastern tip in the canton of Ticino at the southern foot of the Swiss Alps. It has a population of about 16,000 (proper), and about 56,000 for the agglomeration of the same name including Ascona besides other municipalities.

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A formal request for the licensing of a rail network was made by the mayor of Locarno, Francesco Balli, in 1898, but although construction of the Centovalli Railway was begun in May 1913, the collapse of the financing bank later that year, together with the intervention of the First World War meant that construction was not resumed until August 1921, with the line being constructed from each end and meeting on 27 March 1923 and public service being inaugurated on 25 November 1923. On 12 November 1918 Italy and Switzerland had signed a contract [1] about the construction of a narrow gauge railway Locarno - Domodossola. This contract fixed the cross acceptance of Italian vehicles in Switzerland and vice versa without needing a second approval.

World War I 1914–1918 global war originating in Europe

World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.

Domodossola–Locarno railway railway line

The Domodossola–Locarno railway, also known as the Centovalli railway is a metre-gauge railway negotiating the dramatic mountainous terrain between Domodossola, Italy, and Locarno, Switzerland. It passes through the villages of Intragna and Santa Maria Maggiore and carried over 1 million passengers in 2010. It is operated by the Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi (FART) in Switzerland and the Società Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie S.p.A. (SSIF) in Italy.

As well as an important public service, the route of the railway is extremely scenic and the route is popular with tourists.

FART is a member of the Arcobaleno tariff network. [2]

Rolling stock

Traffic on the Centovallina and Vigezzina is fully in the hand of electric motor coaches. A series of 12 articulated EMUs ABe 4/6, built in 1992 by Vevey Technologies made up most through workings until 2007, often working in pairs. 8 ABe 4/6 51-58 are owned by FART, 4 ABe 4/6 61–64 by SSIF.

9 articulated railcars from 1959-68, three-element ABe 8/8 21-24 and two-element ABe or ABDe 6/6 31-35 can not work in MU but can pull a trailer or two (101...111 and 201 from 1923, 120-123 from 1964, 130 from 1948).

ABe 4/6 56 multiple unit at Ponte Brolla station 20080720Y855 FART ABe 56 PoBr.jpg
ABe 4/6 56 multiple unit at Ponte Brolla station

2004 SSIF ordered three three-car panoramic multiple units from the Officine Ferroviaire Veronesi and Škoda Works. Soon the order was changed to three four-car trains. Delivery took place in 2007.

Škoda Works former manufacturing conglomerate

The Škoda Works was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century, founded by Czech engineer Emil Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire. It is the predecessor of today's Škoda Auto and Škoda Transportation companies.

Classifications ABe and Be don't match with classes available in every vehicle. In July 2008 the following consists were working:

Off-season these consists may be reduced to three vehicles. As a replacement SSIF had ABe 8/8 24 fitted with a new cabody, looking very similar to the new trains. However, number of seats is much smaller than in a new train, thus it must be followed by an ABe 4/6 to allow to transport all passengers.

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Rail transport in Switzerland

The Swiss rail network is noteworthy for its density, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-alp freight system. This is made necessary by strong regulations on truck transport, and is enabled by properly coordinated intermodal logistics.

Re, Piedmont Comune in Piedmont, Italy

Re is a village and comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, Italy, approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Domodossola and 7 kilometres (4 mi) from the border with Switzerland. It is situated on the Centovalli mountain railway route between Domodossola and Locarno and is home to a pilgrimage church.

Fart usually refers to:

Gotthard railway trans-Alpine railway in Switzerland

The Gotthard railway is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between northern and southern Europe, especially on the Rotterdam-Basel-Genoa corridor. The Gotthard Railway Company was the former private railway company which financed the construction of, and originally operated, that line.

Intragna Former municipality of Switzerland in Ticino

Intragna is a village and locality in the municipality of Centovalli in the district of Locarno of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland

Borgnone Place in Ticino, Switzerland

Borgnone is a hamlet part of the municipality of Centovalli in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Not to be confused with much bigger Camedo or with Lionza or Costa. It is serviced by the train station of Borgnone-Cadanza.

Monte Ceneri mountain pass

Monte Ceneri is a mountain pass in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It connects the Magadino plain and the Vedeggio valley across the Lugano Prealps at an elevation of 554 metres (1,818 ft) above sea level. In so doing, it provides the most direct route between the cities of Bellinzona and Lugano. Despite its name, Monte Ceneri is the lowest point on the crest between Monte Tamaro and the Camoghè.

Domodossola–Milan railway railway line in Italy

The Domodossola–Milan railway line is a major Italian railway route and an important part of the European rail network. It is one of Italy's busiest lines for both passenger and freight trains. The line connects Milan and Domodossola with Brig, an important Swiss railway junction, via the Simplon Tunnel. Direct passenger trains run from Brig to Paris and Brussels and Luxembourg via Basel. The line runs through lower Varese Province, the valley of Ossola and along the shore of Lake Maggiore.

Centovalli Place in Ticino, Switzerland

Centovalli is a valley and a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is composed of 19 villages or hamlets "frazioni":

Locarno railway station railway station

Locarno railway station serves the city of Locarno, in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. However, the station is located within the adjacent municipality of Muralto, near the shore of Lake Maggiore. The border between the two municipalities runs along the Torrente Ramogna stream, a short distance to the south and west of the station.

Bellinzona railway station railway station

Bellinzona railway station serves the city of Bellinzona, in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is on the Swiss Federal Railways' Gotthard line. The station is nicknamed Porta del Ticino since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016.

Domodossola railway station

Domodossola railway station serves the city and comune of Domodossola, in the Piedmont region, northwestern Italy. Opened in 1888, it forms a major break of gauge junction between standard gauge lines to Milan, Brig and Novara, and a metre gauge line to Locarno.

Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia cross-border train operator in Switzerland and Italy

TILO is a limited company established in 2004 as a joint venture between Italian railway company Trenord and Swiss Federal Railways, both companies participate in the equity of TILO SA with participation of 50%.

Comunità tariffale Ticino e Moesano

The Comunità tariffale Ticino e Moesano, also known by its marketing name arcobaleno, is a Swiss tariff network covering the whole of the canton of Ticino, together with the Moesano district of the canton of Graubünden.

Rete celere del Canton Ticino

The Rete celere del Canton Ticino is a commuter rail network serving the Swiss canton of Ticino and the north-western part of the Italian region Lombardy. It is similar to the S-Bahn networks to be found in the German speaking regions of Switzerland, a similarity accentuated by the use of S prefixes for its line numbers.

Camedo Place in Ticino, Switzerland

Camedo is a Swiss village near the border with Italy. Camedo is part of the Swiss municipality of Centovalli located in Canton Ticino. Camedo is a distinctive separate locality and, in spite of being a small frazione in terms of total area, it retains its character among the 19 localities of Centovalli.

CoEur devotional path

CoEur is a devotional and hiking route in Italy and Switzerland. Its Italian subtitle, Nel cuore dei cammini d'Europa, translates as "In the heart of Europe's paths.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c0_742_140_345_41.html
  2. ↑ "Le imprese di trasporto" [The transport companies] (in Italian). Comunità tariffale Ticino e Moesano. Archived from the original on 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2012-07-13.

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