Bitritto
The New Bari-Bitritto Railway
Hello everyone! Today we will talk about the new Bari-Bitritto railway, a regional railway line that is currently being activated and will serve the southern periphery of Bari along the connection axis with Bitritto. Are you curious to know more? Then read this summary!
History
The history of this new railway dates back to 1986 when a "rapid mass link" was designed between Bari and Bitritto, intended to connect the areas of the Bari's Polyclinic, the San Nicola stadium, Carbonara di Bari and Loseto. The railway line was to branch off from the Bari-Matera-Montalbano Jonico railway route and was to have nine intermediate stops.
Construction work began in 1988 but was interrupted in 1998 without actually realizing the Bari connection. In 2006, Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL), one of the two companies that succeeded FCL since 2001, launched a new tender for the design and environmental impact assessment of the completion of this railway.
The construction site reopened on September 11, 2013, with a completion forecast for 2013. Due to the adopted design change, electric traction and standard gauge replaced the original narrow gauge project. This also led to a change in the management of the operation on the new railway, entrusted to Ferrotramviaria instead of FAL.
Possible Opening
At the beginning of July 2021, the possible opening of the railway for 2026 was announced, causing disappointment by the administrations of the Municipality of Bari and Bitritto. However, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana announced on July 14th that waiting times would be shortened to 18 months.
Ongoing Works
In May 2022, the final works were started, along with technical tests, with a conclusion expected by mid-2023. The activation for passenger service is scheduled for the summer of 2023. In short, in just over a year, we will be able to use this new railway line in Puglia!
Conclusions
In conclusion, the new Bari-Bitritto railway represents an important novelty for the southern periphery of Bari, which will benefit from a modern, efficient, and capable public transport service to reduce vehicular traffic. Thanks to Ferrotramviaria and the regional and local authorities who invested in the implementation of this new railway line, we will soon be able to travel in a more comfortable and sustainable way. Are we ready to jump on the new Bari-Bitritto railway?
