Bologna–Ancona railway
The line by Imola
Overview
Status	in use
Owner	RFI
Line number	84, 102
Locale	Italy
Termini	Bologna Centrale Ancona
Service
Type	Heavy rail
Operator(s)	Trenitalia
History
Opened	1 September 1861 (1861-09-01) (Bologna Centrale–Forlì) 5 October 1861 (1861-10-05) (Forlì–Rimini) 17 November 1861 (1861-11-17) (Rimini–Ancona)
Technical
Line length	204 km (127 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	3 kV DC
Route map Legend km elev from Milan (main line and HSR) and Verona from Pistoia / from Padua 0.000 Bologna Centrale FER line to Portomaggiore 0.330 signal box B 2.628 Bologna San Vitale (opened 2013)[1] to Florence (main line and HSR) / belt railway FER line to Portomaggiore 4.008 San Vitale junction Savena 6.545 San Lazzaro di Savena (opened 2008)[2] 10.906 Mirandola-Ozzano passing loop 13.013 Ozzano dell'Emilia (opened 2002)[3] 16.256 Varignana[4] 23.034 Castel San Pietro Terme Sillaro Piratello passing loop (station closed 1908)[5] SAF line from Fontanelice (closed 1944) SAF-RFI link 34.056 Imola SAF / RFI SAF line to Massa Lombarda (closed 1944) Santerno FVS line from Riolo Bagni (closed 1933) FVS-RFI link 41.832 Castelbolognese-Riolo Terme FVS (1914–1933) / RFI to Ravenna from Florence 49.062 Faenza to Ravenna and Lugo Lamone Montone Forlì (closed 1927) 64.773 Forlì (opened 1927) Ronco 69.510 Villa Selva (opened 2009) 71.506 Forlimpopoli-Bertinoro[6] Savio 82.624 Cesena Rubicon 89.632 Gambettola 96.216 Savignano sul Rubicone Uso 101.273 Santarcangelo di Romagna line to Urbino (never completed) 103.253 Santa Giustina di Romagna 106.969 Rimini Fiera (opened 2004) Marecchia from Ferrara canal port Rimini–Riccione trolleybusway 111.042 Rimini FP (1916–1960) / RFI FP line to Novafeltria (closed 1960) Rimini Marina (closed 1943) to San Marino (closed 1944) 116.278 Rimini Miramare Melo 121.035 Riccione 124.966 Misano Adriatico (opened 1949)[7] 129.321 Cattolica-San Giovanni-Gabicce Emilia-Romagna Marche border 132.943 Gradara (opened 1912)[8] 136.380 Cattolica tunnel 137.421 Foglia 144.422 Pesaro canale Albani 156.885 Fano to Urbino (closed 1987) Metauro Marotta (closed 1884) 169.111 Marotta-Mondolfo (opened 1884) Cesano Misa 178.158 Senigallia 185.030 Marzocca (opened 1916)[9] 187.300 Marzocchetta (closed 1948)[10] 190.562 Montemarciano Esino 193.788 Esino junction (1936–1944),[note 1][11] (1946[12]–?) to Rome from Rome 195.299 Falconara Marittima 4 m 198.307 Palombina 4 m 200.557 Ancona Torrette (opened 2002)[13] 1 m Ancona-Falconara Marittima tramway (closed 1944) Ancona tramway (closed 1949) 0.000 Ancona ATMA (closed 1949) / RFI 3 m to Lecce Ancona tramway (closed 1949) Ancona port railway (closed 2015) km Source: Italian railway atlas[14] This diagram: view talk edit

The Bologna–Ancona railway is an Italian railway that connects the city of Bologna with the city of Ancona, passing through the Po Valley to Rimini and along the Adriatic coast for the rest of the line.

Under a decree dated 21 May 1856, the government of the Papal States gave the Marquis of Casa Valdés [es] a concession to build and operate a railway between the cities of Ancona and Bologna. The railway had to be built within ten years, and Casa Valdés' operation would last 95 years.^[15] On 16 August 1856, the government approved a statute founding the Società Generale delle Strade Ferrate Romane, established for the construction and operation of the Rome–Ancona railway and its extension to Bologna. This company was the concessionaire of the entire Pio Centrale railway network, in honour of Pope Pius IX, which also included the Romę–Civitavecchia railway.^[16] It would also support the Austrian Lombardy–Venetia railway network by extending the railway to Ferrara and up to the Po.^[15][17]

The railway was opened in phases in autumn 1861, when the territories were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. The Bologna Centrale–Forlì section was opened on 1 September, the Forlì–Rimini section on 5 October, and the section to Ancona on 17 November.^[15][18] The opening ceremony for the line took place seven days earlier.^[20]

The Bologna–Ancona railway, along with others belonging to Pio Centrale, were assigned to the Società per le Strade Ferrate Romane (Roman Railways Company) established following the reorganisation of the railways authorised by the law of 14 May 1865, no 2279. As a result of the Roman railways' poor financial condition, which worsened after the 1870s, the management of the line finally passed to the Società Italiana per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali, which retained it following the 1885 reorganisations.^{[citation needed]} After 1905, following the enactment of the "Fortis" law, which nationalised the railways, the management passed to Ferrovie dello Stato.^[15]

In 1891, Riccione railway station was inaugurated:^[21] it had been a temporary stop from 1 January 1862,^[21][22] and a permanent stop from 1865.^{[21][22][23][24]}

The line was doubled in the early twentieth century. Electrification at 3000 volts direct-current was inaugurated on 12 November 1938^[25] and went into operation two days later.^[26]

Between 2016 and 2018, Riccione's railway station was modernised as part of a programme to increase the speed of trains on the line.^[27][28] As part of the works, the northbound track was moved closer towards the seaside.^[29]

The line is a double-track line entirely electrified at 3000 volts DC.^[30] The management of the infrastructure is carried out by the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.

It is equipped with the Sistema Controllo Marcia Treno train-control system,^[31] centralised traffic control (Bologna Centrale–Castelbolognese Riolo Terme) and Sistema di Comando e Controllo (Castelbolognese Riolo Terme-Ancona Marittima)^[32] (another form of centralised traffic control).

Operated by the central operations managers based in Bologna Centrale (Bologna Centrale–Rimini) and at Bari Lamasinata (Rimini–Ancona Marittima), it uses the RS4 Codici train protection system allowing maximum speeds between 115 and 200 km/h.

Since 2015, the line has been undergoing major infrastructure upgrading works, allowing the maximum speed of the line to be raised to 200 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour).^[33]

The line has a total length of 204 kilometres (127 miles), with an average gradient between 0% and 0.7%.

Throughout its course, the railway runs within a few kilometres of the A14 tolled highway, which serves the same route as the ancient Via Aemilia between Bologna and Rimini and the Via Flaminia between Rimini and Fano, and relieves the SS9 [it] and SS16 [it] state roads, which follow the Roman roads more closely.

The railway begins at Bologna Centrale. It continues southeast through Bologna San Vitale, passes under Bologna's belt railway, and crosses over the Bologna–Portomaggiore railway [it].

Leaving Bologna, the line continues southeast through the stations of San Lazzaro di Savena (opened in 2008), Ozzano dell'Emilia [it], Varignana [it], Castel San Pietro Terme [it], before reaching Imola. Until 1944, the line at Imola interchanged with the Massalombarda–Fontanelice railway [it], which it passed under after Imola.

Following Imola, the line continues southeast to the station of Castelbolognese-Riolo Terme [it], which was adjacent to the terminus of the Castelbolognese–Riolo Bagni railway [it] that closed in 1933. At the next station, Faenza, the railway interchanges with the Florence–Faenza railway and the Faenza–Ravenna railway [it].

The next station is Forlì, whose original railway station was relocated south in 1927. The line continues southeast past the stations of Villa Selva [it] (opened in 2009), Forlimpopoli-Bertinoro [it], Cesena, Gambettola [it], and Savignano sul Rubicone [it].

After passing Savignano, the line takes a southerly bearing, and curves on an easterly course before reaching the station of Santarcangelo di Romagna [it]. Here, the railway was intended to interchange with the Subappennine railway [it], a cancelled railway project that would have connected Santarcangelo to Fabriano via San Leo, Urbino, and Pergola. Past Santarcangelo, the line runs through Rimini Fiera, whose railway station opened in 2004, before turning southeast to reach Rimini railway station, where the line interchanges with the Ferrara–Rimini railway [de; it; pl]. Rimini was also the terminus of two disused lines: the Rimini–Novafeltria railway, in operation between 1916 and 1960, which terminated at the adjacent Rimini Centrale [it]; and the Rimini–San Marino railway, which operated between 1932 and 1944.

After Rimini railway station, the line bears southeast parallel to the Adriatic Sea. It runs adjaent to Metromare, a segregated trolleybus rapid transit line between Rimini and Riccione that opened in 2019, with fifteen intermediate stops. Until the 1960s, the railway crossed the Torrente Ausa just south of Rimini's railway station: the Ausa was only diverted northwards to empty into the Marecchia in the 1960s.^[34] Rimini includes a locomotive depot with a workshop, likely established immediately after the railway's opening.^[15]

The line continues through the railway stations of Rimini Miramare, Riccione (opened 1891, replacing an 1862 temporary stop that was made permanent in 1865), Misano Adriatico [it] (opened 1949), and Cattolica-San Giovanni-Gabicce [it].

After crossing the border between Emilia-Romagna and the Marche, it used to stop at Gradara railway station. The line reaches its maximum grade of 1.2% on the approach to the Cattolica tunnel.

The line continues through the railway stations of Pesaro and Fano [it], where it interchanged with the Fano–Urbino railway [it] that closed in 1987. It then passes through the railway stations of Marotta-Mondolfo [it] (relocated southwards in 1884), Senigallia [it], Marzocca [it] (opened in 1916; a station to its south, Marzocchetta, closed in 1948), and Montemarciano [it]. After crossing the Esino river, it meets the Rome–Ancona railway, and continues through the stations of Falconara Marittima [it], Palombina [it], and Ancona Torrette [it] (opened 2002), finally reaching Ancona. The Adriatic railway continues southwards towards Lecce.

There are both regional passenger trains and long-distance trains on the line. These trains are operated by Trenitalia and Trenitalia Tper; the latter also operates the Freccia Orobica (Bergamo–Pesaro).

Its main train services are:

• Regional Trains Piacenza-Parma-Reggio Emilia-Modena-Bologna Centrale-Imola-Castel Bolognese-Faenza-Forlì-Cesena-Rimini-Riccione-Cattolica-Pesaro-Fano-Falconara Marittima-Ancona (sometimes, these train services start from Milan Centrale and continue to Pescara during the summer month. There is also a daily service from Ravenna and Rimini to Genoa Brignole)
• Regional Trains Bologna Centrale-Imola-Castel Bolognese-Lugo-Russi-Ravenna-Cervia-Cesenatico-Rimini
• Freccia Orobica regional trains Bergamo-Brescia-Cremona-Mantova-Suzzara-Ferrara-Ravenna-Cervia-Cesenatico-Rimini-Riccione-Cattolica-Pesaro (summer only)
• Intercity and Intercity Night Trains Turin Porta Nuova-Milan Centrale-Lodi-Piacenza-Parma-Reggio Emilia-Modena-Bologna-Faenza-Forli-Cesena-Rimini-Riccione-Pesaro-Fano-Senigallia-Ancona-Civitanova Marche-San Benedetto del Tronto-Pescara-Termoli-Foggia-Bari-Taranto/Brindisi-Lecce (these trains call in the summer season also in Cattolica-San Giovanni-Gabicce and, in the occasion of MotoGP and Superbike races, at Misano Adriatico)
• Frecciabianca High-Speed Trains

Turin Porta Nuova-Milan Centrale-Lodi-Piacenza-Parma-Reggio Emilia-Modena-Venice Santa Lucia-Venice Mestre-Padova-Rovigo-Ferrara-Bologna-Faenza-Forli-Cesena-Rimini-Riccione-Pesaro-Fano-Senigallia-Ancona-Civitanova Marche-San Benedetto del Tronto-Pescara-Termoli-Foggia-Bari-Taranto/Brindisi-Lecce (Most Frecciabianca services have now been replaced by Frecciargento high-speed trains)

• Frecciarossa High-Speed Trains Milan Centrale-Reggio Emilia-Bologna Centrale-Forlì-Rimini-Pesaro-Ancona-Pescara-Termoli-Foggia-Bari-Brindisi-Lecce
• EuroCity Trains Munich HBF-Rosenheim-Kufstein-Innsbruck-Brenner/Brennero-Brixen/Bressanone-Bozen/Bolzano-Trento-Rovereto-Verona Porta Nuova-Bologna Centrale-Cesena-Rimini (summer only, in the winter season, these trains terminate in Bologna)

• List of railway lines in Italy
• Metromare, a trolleybus rapid transit line that runs adjacent to the railway between Rimini and Riccione

• RFI, ed. (December 2003). Fascicolo Linea 84 (Bologna–Rimini) (in Italian). Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.}
• RFI, ed. (December 2003). Fascicolo Linea 102 (Rimini–Ancona) (in Italian). Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
• Tuzza, Alessandro, ed. (1927). "Prospetto cronologico dei tratti di ferrovia aperti all'esercizio dal 1839 al 31 dicembre 1926" (in Italian). Ufficio Centrale di Statistica delle Ferrovie dello Stato/Trenidicarta.it. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
• Atlante ferroviario d'Italia e Slovenia [Railway atlas of Italy and Slovenia]. Schweers + Wall. 2010. ISBN 978-3-89494-129-1.}