Ricerc@Sapienza

The paper describes the feasibility study for the rehabilitation of a railway corridor at Lanciano, in central Italy. Although the area is not densely populated, the need to divert commuters’ flows from passenger cars to transit is sufficient to prompt the analysis, and the choice to focus on rail rather than rubber-tired modes is dictated by the willingness to operate more environmentally-friendly services. Area features and demand patterns, all described in the paper, steer the selection to light railway, and more specifically to tram-train services.

ELIPTIC (2015-2018) is a project funded by the European Commission to develop 20 new concepts to demonstrate that the further take-up of electric vehicles can be done in a cost-efficient way, with tangible effects on the urban environment. The concepts are divided into three thematic pillars: i) safe integration of electric buses using existing electric public transport infrastructure; ii) innovative energy storage systems to increase operational efficiency, and iii) multi-purpose use of electric public transport infrastructure.

Revamping abandoned railways is often associated with leisure functions and non-routine trips. When areas evolve from rural settlements to conurbations with mixed land use and high travel demand, the reuse of no-longer-operational rail services can prove to be appropriate to meet such new requirements. This is the case of an abandoned railway in central Italy, the Sangritana Line, whose rehabilitation could serve a former rural area, now under continuous development.