Barcelona, 20 April 2018
The development of railway tourism, through peaceful, slow, sustainable mobility and the rediscovery of suggestive Italian itineraries on board regional trains.
These are proposals suggested by the FS Italiane Group at the 1st Toprail Forum, organised by the UIC - Union Internationale Chemins des fer in Barcelona (20 and 21 April).
Trenitalia and Fondazione FS Italiane discussed initiatives undertaken to increase knowledge and development possibilities for railway tourism of operators in the sector and contribute to the growth of this innovative tourism offering.
Tourism travel by regional rail increased by 7% in 2017. Trenitalia's goal is to increase these flows by enhancing the historical and cultural heritage of Italian villages. Places that can easily be reached by train, an ecological, convenient, and safe transportation method and, with the arrival of the new Rock and Pop trains, increasingly comfortable.
In Barcelona, Trenitalia presented the 5 Terre Express integrated offer, which allows visitors to visit the evocative stretch of the Liguria coast (declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco) on board regional trains. Trains stop in all of the Cinque Terre Park locations: Monterosso, Corniglia, Vernazza, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Trenitalia also illustrated its collaboration with the ‘I Borghi Più Belli d’Italia Association’ (association for the most beautiful villages in Italy). The association promotes festivals, exhibitions, fairs, conferences, and concerts that highlight the artistic and architectural heritage of small Italian towns. Of the 282 locations promoted by the association, 23 can easily be reached by regional trains, with a total of 580 daily connections.
Fondazione FS Italiane illustrated its offer of historical trains covering eight Italian regions at the 1st Toprail Forum. In Tuscany the Val d'Orcia Railway, between Asciano and Monte Antico (51 km) and the Del Parco Railway, between Sulmona and Carpinone connecting Abruzzo and Molise (118 km). In Sicily the Dei Templi Railway, between Agrigento Bassa and Porto Empedocle (12 km).
In 2016/2017, 130,000 Italian and foreign tourists travelled on board the historic Fondazione FS Italiane trains, 45% more than in the previous period (2014/2015). The National Railway Museum of Pietrarsa was also presented at the event, which exhibits the most important steam and electric locomotives and carriages of the FS Italiane Group. The Museum, restored with an investment of about 20 million euros, registered a record number of visitors in 2017: over 110 thousand visitors, an increase of 58% compared to 2016 and an increase of 647% compared to 2014.