Roccapalumba
Roccapalumba-Alia: a station with historical origins
The Roccapalumba-Alia station is a strategic railway station located on the Agrigento-Palermo and Caltanissetta-Palermo railway lines, serving the two municipalities of Roccapalumba and Alia in Italy. The station was built in 1870 by the Vittorio Emanuele Company during the construction of the railways connecting Palermo and Agrigento, and the sulfur mines in the Lercara Friddi basin located in the center-west of the Sicilian island. The station was part of a project aimed at connecting the various sulfur mines in the area.
The role of the station in transporting mineral
With the construction of the Roccapalumba-Alia station, the railway became an important means of transporting sulfur mineral from the Lercara mines. The station became a convergence point for the narrow-gauge mining line and the railway transport of carts carrying the mineral to the ports of Termini and Palermo. In 1882, the station also became important as a branching point for Caltanissetta and Catania. Despite the decline in freight traffic after the closure of sulfur mines, the station maintained its importance as an exchange node for passenger trains.
The future of the station
In December 2017, with the activation of a movement post at Lercara Diramazione on the Agrigento-Palermo railway, the Roccapalumba-Alia station lost its branching characteristic. In the future, it will be decommissioned when the doubling of the high-capacity Palermo-Catania railway is activated.
Station structures and facilities
At first, the Vittorio Emanuele railway only had a small platform with a third-class passenger building with a freight warehouse and an external loading track. With the opening of the Vallelunga line, the new two-storey passenger building was constructed with 10 rooms per floor for accommodation. On the railway floor, there were two waiting rooms, a ticket office, stationmaster and telegraph rooms, luggage and freight storage, a hotel, entrance lobby and other services.
In conclusion, the Roccapalumba-Alia station has a long history and an important role in the economy of the area. Despite its uncertain future, the station will always be remembered as a meeting point between Piedmont and Sicily.
