This was a holiday trip incorporating a few nights in Florence and a rail-based organised tour of Sicily which had been postponed in March 2020.
For the next 10 days we were in the capable hands of the PTG tour leaders. It was firmly culture-orientated, with rail travel basically to get us between places.We were based in two excellent, if very different, hotels in Palermo and Catania, plus an overnight in Messina to break the long journey from Rome.
Messina-Palermo (our base for the next 4 nights) was covered in one of the new "Pop" units - apart from the ICs and Sleepers the electrified routes are entirely in the hands of modern EMU stock, either these or the electric version of the Menuetto (which are getting to need refurbishment). The latest "Blues" hybrids were seen on Catania-Airport shuttles. Freight seems confined to the Siracusa route.
The line alternates between heavily modernised double track with much tunnelling and the classic and slow single track along the coast; the construction industry in Sicily seems to have done very well out of infrastructure projects in recent decades, and some of the roads are spectacular.
Our hotel was a repurposed former convent and savings bank (not at the same time) and we'd happily recommend it - food was excellent, service mostly good. As was the weather, BTW - consistently warm and sunny, sometimes quite windy.
From Palermo we visited Agrigento (for the Valley of Temples) - a straightforward out-and-back in Menuetti; the key morning train out was a well-loaded single set, whereas our early evening return was 2 sets and very quiet. The line has been quite substantially modernised in parts, but it remains single track, and the end-to-end average speed is still only around 70km/h.
We used the same route part-way for our transfer from Palermo to Catania; both lines are pretty scenic as the cross the centre of the island. The Catania line is in the process of modernisation, with significant new built at the Eastern end (and as a result a RRB for the last hour - month-long engineering blocks are pretty standard on RFI - Rete Ferrovia Italiana). There is a quirky rail-and-local-history museum in the small station of Villarosa, run by the last stationmaster there.
Palermo was our starting point, too, for a trip on one of the island's three open diesel-worked branches: it was an optional return leg of a trip to the temple at Sebaste and the lovely hilltop town of Erice. Trapani-Marsala-Castelvetrano is a quite busy coastal line, with most trains operated by Menuetti, but it is linked to the rest of the island by a very scenic and remote section with few through passengers other than our group. We had a pair of ALn units and our first significant delay - caused by a long section of slow running which may be due to level crossing safety issues at the Palermo end. Fortunately we made our connection at Piraineto onto the the recently-electrified and modernised Palermo "Metro" from the airport.
(The direct line from Trapani to Alcamo Diramazione (Junction) has been out of use for many years after earthquake damage, but having followed it on our tour bus it's not obvious why.)
From our base in a quirky hotel in Catania we visited Syracuse and Taormina by regional train (more Pops) and Intercity respectively - again, the main line has been partly modernised but has long sections of single track; a major cut-off is under construction between Taormina and Messina. We left Taormina earlier than the main group as we needed a break from tourism - sampling the steep pathway down to the station which has spectacular views.
Getting back to Catania by 2pm allowed me to sample the secondary(?tertiary) line to Caltagirone (it used to go through to Gela on the south coast but has been bustituted for years - infrastructure issues again). It has the magnificent service of 2tpd, and passenger number on the inevitable ALn) were in single figures.
Despite its minimal service the line has been completely modernised with centralised signalling and automated level crossings; the two nearest Caltagirone were unfinished or partly defective, and caused a 10-min delay to rail and road alike despite the barriers functioning correctly (I deduce that the signalling authorising trains to proceed is the problem). Caltagirone station is an impressive, fairly modern, pile with 3 platforms plus sidings - about 10% of the building is dedicated to the station bar, which was the only part with much sign of life
Interestingly, and perhaps because it was a Friday, the return trip picked up several passengers for the Airport.
And so to the railway highlight - the Circumetnea Railway (950mm gauge):
The tour group had a charter train from Catania-Borgo as far as Randazzo, with a pause at Bronte (where there is a small railway museum, and local products were served), and a crossing stop at a closed station called Gurrida. From Randazzo to Riposto, after an excellent lunch, was by service train.
The line is one of two halves: Catania to Brontë (yes, as in Haworth!) is modernised, and Biancavilla to Adrano has been realigned and put partly underground; I gather a more intensive service is planned. The rest is much more traditional and has only 3-4tpd, making throughout travel somewhat difficult.
Our charter train was a refurbished version of the standard 1970-built railcars that were seen on most other trains (mostly in pairs), but two of the newer (1991) units were in action, and in Catania Borgo, the headquarters, some of the recent Newag "Vulcano" units were noticed, apparently out of use - a report online says 2 of them are in action again though.
Return to Catania was on the IC from Rome.
Photos: Caltagirone - over-generous provision: Adrano FCE on the rebuilt section; Gurrida crossing loop with 2 generations of unit; Bronte museum with the classic railcars on right;.
For the next 10 days we were in the capable hands of the PTG tour leaders. It was firmly culture-orientated, with rail travel basically to get us between places.We were based in two excellent, if very different, hotels in Palermo and Catania, plus an overnight in Messina to break the long journey from Rome.
Messina-Palermo (our base for the next 4 nights) was covered in one of the new "Pop" units - apart from the ICs and Sleepers the electrified routes are entirely in the hands of modern EMU stock, either these or the electric version of the Menuetto (which are getting to need refurbishment). The latest "Blues" hybrids were seen on Catania-Airport shuttles. Freight seems confined to the Siracusa route.
The line alternates between heavily modernised double track with much tunnelling and the classic and slow single track along the coast; the construction industry in Sicily seems to have done very well out of infrastructure projects in recent decades, and some of the roads are spectacular.
Our hotel was a repurposed former convent and savings bank (not at the same time) and we'd happily recommend it - food was excellent, service mostly good. As was the weather, BTW - consistently warm and sunny, sometimes quite windy.
From Palermo we visited Agrigento (for the Valley of Temples) - a straightforward out-and-back in Menuetti; the key morning train out was a well-loaded single set, whereas our early evening return was 2 sets and very quiet. The line has been quite substantially modernised in parts, but it remains single track, and the end-to-end average speed is still only around 70km/h.
We used the same route part-way for our transfer from Palermo to Catania; both lines are pretty scenic as the cross the centre of the island. The Catania line is in the process of modernisation, with significant new built at the Eastern end (and as a result a RRB for the last hour - month-long engineering blocks are pretty standard on RFI - Rete Ferrovia Italiana). There is a quirky rail-and-local-history museum in the small station of Villarosa, run by the last stationmaster there.
Palermo was our starting point, too, for a trip on one of the island's three open diesel-worked branches: it was an optional return leg of a trip to the temple at Sebaste and the lovely hilltop town of Erice. Trapani-Marsala-Castelvetrano is a quite busy coastal line, with most trains operated by Menuetti, but it is linked to the rest of the island by a very scenic and remote section with few through passengers other than our group. We had a pair of ALn units and our first significant delay - caused by a long section of slow running which may be due to level crossing safety issues at the Palermo end. Fortunately we made our connection at Piraineto onto the the recently-electrified and modernised Palermo "Metro" from the airport.
(The direct line from Trapani to Alcamo Diramazione (Junction) has been out of use for many years after earthquake damage, but having followed it on our tour bus it's not obvious why.)
From our base in a quirky hotel in Catania we visited Syracuse and Taormina by regional train (more Pops) and Intercity respectively - again, the main line has been partly modernised but has long sections of single track; a major cut-off is under construction between Taormina and Messina. We left Taormina earlier than the main group as we needed a break from tourism - sampling the steep pathway down to the station which has spectacular views.
Getting back to Catania by 2pm allowed me to sample the secondary(?tertiary) line to Caltagirone (it used to go through to Gela on the south coast but has been bustituted for years - infrastructure issues again). It has the magnificent service of 2tpd, and passenger number on the inevitable ALn) were in single figures.
Despite its minimal service the line has been completely modernised with centralised signalling and automated level crossings; the two nearest Caltagirone were unfinished or partly defective, and caused a 10-min delay to rail and road alike despite the barriers functioning correctly (I deduce that the signalling authorising trains to proceed is the problem). Caltagirone station is an impressive, fairly modern, pile with 3 platforms plus sidings - about 10% of the building is dedicated to the station bar, which was the only part with much sign of life
Interestingly, and perhaps because it was a Friday, the return trip picked up several passengers for the Airport.And so to the railway highlight - the Circumetnea Railway (950mm gauge):
The tour group had a charter train from Catania-Borgo as far as Randazzo, with a pause at Bronte (where there is a small railway museum, and local products were served), and a crossing stop at a closed station called Gurrida. From Randazzo to Riposto, after an excellent lunch, was by service train.
The line is one of two halves: Catania to Brontë (yes, as in Haworth!) is modernised, and Biancavilla to Adrano has been realigned and put partly underground; I gather a more intensive service is planned. The rest is much more traditional and has only 3-4tpd, making throughout travel somewhat difficult.
Our charter train was a refurbished version of the standard 1970-built railcars that were seen on most other trains (mostly in pairs), but two of the newer (1991) units were in action, and in Catania Borgo, the headquarters, some of the recent Newag "Vulcano" units were noticed, apparently out of use - a report online says 2 of them are in action again though.
Return to Catania was on the IC from Rome.
Photos: Caltagirone - over-generous provision: Adrano FCE on the rebuilt section; Gurrida crossing loop with 2 generations of unit; Bronte museum with the classic railcars on right;.