Today it's time to leave France and continue the journey to Italy. On my way back from Spain to Sweden, I will travel through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and then up through Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.
Gare du Sud
Gare de Nice Ville
There are of course reservation free TER trains to Italy (the one I took the day before), but today I choose a direct train from Nice to Genoa, operated by the Italian company Thello. Interrail is not valid on Thello, but a discounted ticket can be bought, the price is 24EUR from Nice to Genoa in 1st class.
Unfortunately one of the 1st class coaches on the train was replaced with a 2nd class due to a malfunction.
2nd class coach that replaced a 1st class
Class 22200
Regio 2N
Thello is using Class BB 36000, Alstom Astride locomotive
One of two 1st class coaches was still used, but I was not lucky to get a seat in that one
Leaving French Riviera
A longer stop at Monaco
Menton
It looks like the right tunnel is older than the left one
25kV AC in France
3kV DC in Italy
The railway to/from Cuneo to the right here
Ventimiglia
The railway along the cost is also used by the freight trains. Here is Class BB 26000, Alstom Sybics at Ventimiglia
Even though Class BB 36000 is equipped with power and safety systems it is replaced with another locomotive here in Ventimiglia.
Italian locomotive FS Class E.402 will continue the journey of the Thello train
From Wikipedia: "The Genova-Ventimiglia railway runs along the coast of the Liguria region of Italy. It was opened as a single track line between Genova and Savona in 1868, and between Savona and Ventimiglia in 1872, mostly running along a coastal corniche.
The line is being doubled mainly by building an entirely new double track line parallel to the existing railway, because the line often runs through towns where there is no space for a second track. The new line also increases the maximum speed from 100 to 180 km/h. The line is mainly in tunnels: 61 km of the 74 km of line between Ospedaletti and Finale Ligure is underground, and the rest of the line has similar proportions. The longest tunnel is Caponero-Capoverde (13.135 km). This tunnel includes the new Sanremo station.
The new line has fewer stations than the old, leaving some towns without a railway service. Another disadvantage is that being mainly in tunnel the new line will not offer tourists spectacular views of the Riviera coast as the old line did."
Single track section of the railway
FS Class E.652 from Mercitalia Rail.
From Wikipedia: "Class E.652 is a type of locomotive derived from E.633/2. They unite the acceleration and hauling capacities of E.633 with the speed of E.632 (160 km/h); externally they are almost identical to E.632/3, but the electrical part is very different. The first unit was built in 1989, and have been the first Italian locomotive with electronic board diagnostics and relative screen on the driver's desk."
The new double track section of the line
There are many tunnels on the new section
Savona. I was originally supposed to change trains here in order to continue the journey from Genoa further south along the coast, but the Thello train was delayed, so I decided to continue to Genoa and change there. I was actually expecting this delay, so my ticket was until Genoa anyway.
Shortly before Genoa, there are railways from Ventimiglia and Milano connecting here
At Genoa another E.402 is arriving in order to continue the journey with Thello train further to Milano
E.402 is manufactured by Ansaldo
Design by Pininfarina
I'm continuing my journey with a Regional train
Continuing my journey on the Genoa-Pisa railway
Some coaches of the Regional train have windows that can be opened.
Frecciabianca train
My next stop is at S.Margherita Ligure
Santa Margherita Ligure opened in 1868 and changed the name to Santa Margherita Ligure-Portofino in 1960. Portofino is a popular tourist town, but it is located about 5km from this station.
This is a busy line with both passenger and freight trains
483 316 is a Traxx F140 DC from Akiem/Mercitalia
From Wikipedia: "Mercitalia is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Italian state railway (FSI) system that operates freight transport and logistics services both within Italy and across Europe. As part of the capital expenditures, Mercitalia in November 2017 ordered up to 125 Bombardier TRAXX electric locomotives at a cost of €400 million, and 50 intermodal and 200 steel freight cars, from Tatravagonka Poprad and Greenbrier respectively, worth €27 million.[3] The new locomotives entered service for both Mercitalia Rail and TX Logistik and it commenced on November 7, 2018"
No harbour for big ships here, the passengers are transported with smaller boats
Monumento a Giuseppe Garibaldi
Gnocchi for lunch
Marble monument to Christopher Columbus, at the waterfront, made by the sculptor Odoardo Tabacchi in 1892.
Statue of Vittorio Emanuele II
Santuario della Madonna della Rosa - Parrocchia Santa Margherita d’Antiochia
Swedish flag here
Decoration at the station cafe
Regional train
5 Terre Express
FS Class E.464
474 201 Eurosprinter ES 64 F4 from DB Cargo Italia
484 105 Traxx F140 MS from MRCE/Oceanogate
Approved for Italy and Switzerland
My next train is an Intercity - which was also delayed
Many passengers at Monterosso, one of the 5 Terre towns
Poor tourists queuing in the heat
Arriving to La Spezia
Book about cats?
My next and last train today is Regional to Parma.
FS Class ALe 642 is an EMU built by Ansaldo at the beginning of the 1990s for use on secondary lines and for commuter traffic.
It is a small and old trains but it had both air condition and WC
Also the windows could be opened
From La Spezia I'm continuing on the 113km long Pontremolese railway
The line is used by freight trains
Here is 284 002, Stadler Eurolight diesel locomotive
Parts of the railway have now double tracks built in 1996, and 2008
Another freight
Pontremoli town which gave name for the railway
Bridge over Taro river
Tunnel of the old railway stretch
In 2014, the doubling of the Solignano - Fornovo section was completed.
Arriving to Parma
ETR 350 and FS Class ALe 642 at Parma
Monumento a Vittorio Bottego
From Wikipedia: "Parma is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside."
Since I'm not done with the station yet, here are some more photos of the railway
FS Class E.652
Another E.652
Car transport
193 643, X4E Vectron MS from MRCE/Mercitalia
FS Class E.405 and FS Class E.464, both manufactured by Bombardier
Frecciabianca E.414
ETR700
From Wikipedia: "The V250 was a high-speed train, designed by Pininfarina and built by AnsaldoBreda to operate on the Fyra-service, a high speed train of NS International and NMBS/SNCB between Amsterdam and Brussels with a branch to Breda on the newly built HSL-Zuid in the Netherlands and its extension HSL 4 in Belgium.
V250 trainsets were delivered with a significant delay. Full commercial services with V250 started on 9 December 2012 but stopped only 39 days later on 17 January 2013, after the Belgian Railway Inspection Agency had suspended the operating license. This happened because of safety and structural problems with the construction and maintenance of V250. All trainsets were removed from service and sent back to AnsaldoBreda in Italy.
In August 2017, Trenitalia announced that it had procured all 19 V250 sets to expand its high speed fleet and rebranded them as ETR 700 trainsets. ETR 700 will be used on Frecciargento services, on the Adriatic railway, between Milan and Lecce. A total of 17 sets will be used for services, with the remaining two used as sources of spares"
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