Verona–Bologna railway

The railway line was designed in the late 1870s century as the main line between Verona and Bologna to replace the line via Mantua and Modena completed in 1875. The project was listed as a third-class railway in the Baccarini Law of 1879.[5] The railway was built by the Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali (Italian Company for the Southern Railways, SFM) on behalf of the government, while the provinces that it crossed contributed 20 per cent of the construction costs.

Originally it was intended that the railway would be built entirely of double track and it was built as such between Tavernelle d'Emilia and Bologna. Difficulties in the construction of the embankment near San Felice sul Panaro and the presence of numerous aquifers along the way which made the terrain over which the line had to pass unstable caused its continuation to be built as a single track. The line was opened from Bologna to San Giovanni in Persiceto on 7 April 1887 and extended to Crevalcore on 9 June 1888 and San Felice on 22 October 1889.[6]

During those same years, the trunk line between San Felice and Verona Porta Nuova station was the subject of bitter controversy. The original project designed by the engineers Minarelli and Jean Louis Protche and approved by the legislature, was routed through Poggio Rusco. However the town of Mirandola supported a variation proposed by the engineer Gabelli that diverted the line closer to the town of Modena. Protche and Minarelli's route was finally confirmed in May 1887. As a result, the Suzzara–Ferrara railway company started construction only a few weeks later of a variation of the project that allowed it to join the Verona-Bologna line at a future station in the town of Poggio Rusco. The station was so constructed and opened on 1 July 1888 even before the concession for the line from San Felice was granted.[7]

Following the financial crisis of the 1890s work proceeded slowly and Poggio Rusco was reached on 20 January 1902.[6] The new trunk was operated from its opening with electric traction, using accumulator railcars. Indeed, from 1 May 1901 the SFM began to operate this type of traction between San Felice and Bologna,[8] extending to the new concession when it was opened for operation. Four rail cars were constructed by Diatto with two Ganz 30 kW electric motors, and with 52 seats. They were numbered RA 001-004 and could reach speeds of 60 km/h. The trial ended in 1903.

The line between Nogara and Bologna about 1912

In 1905 the line passed into the control of Ferrovie dello Stato. The building continued to be slow: Revere Scalo was reached on 23 July 1909, while the bridge over the Po river and the Ostiglia Station were opened on 26 November 1911.[6]

On 1 October 1912, the line was opened to a new station in Nogara,[6] which already had an existing station on the Mantua–Monselice railway. The two stations were connected by a chord, known as Cerea junction–Nogara junction and both operated until the Mantua–Monselice was deviated to run through the Verona–Bologna line station.

On 31 May 1914 the line was opened from Nogara to Isola della Scala,[6] where the new line connected with the Verona–Rovigo line. In this case, the new station replaced the old station on the other line, as on the same day a deviation of the Verona–Rovigo line was opened. The 1 February 1924 the line was opened between Isola della Scala and Saint Lucia junction,[6] where it separates from the Verona–Mantua railway. The Verona–Bologna line was finally completed after more than forty years of work.

In the 1970s the rail node at Verona was completely restructured, with the opening of San Massimo junction, the displacement of Saint Lucia junction west of its old location and the duplication of the Verona–Bologna from the new Saint Lucia junction south to the former Verona Ca' di David station.

Work on the doubling from Ca di David to Tavernelle d'Emilia only started at the beginning of the 1990s. After years of discussions and proposals, the first worksites were opened at Tavernelle, Ostiglia and Buttapietra. The approved project included a two-track deviation for much of the route. Because of the bankruptcy of the construction firms involved, no work was carried out for several years. The first duplicated section opened between Ca 'di David and Nogara in 2001. On 7 January 2005 an accident at Bolognina railway station between a freight and a passenger train killed 17 people: this led to the banning of freight trains on the route until December 2008 and the acceleration of work.[9] On 7 October 2005 work was completed between Tavernelle Emilia and Persiceto Nord.[10] Duplication of the section to Crevalcore was opened on 31 October 2006.[11]

The rest of the duplication of the line was completed in 2007 and 2008. Double track reached San Felice sul Panaro on 31 March 2007.[12] Work was completed between Poggio Rusco and San Felice on 26 October 2008.[13] Finally the new route between Nogara and Poggio Rusco was opened on 14 December 2008 although part of the route between P.C.[1] Ostiglia Nord and Poggio Rusco station was opened as a single line.[14] Duplication of this short stretch was completed on 26 July 2009.[15] While the old Nogara–Ostiglia–Poggio Rusco line has been partially dismantled, it remains active between Revere yard and its connection with the new line near Poggio Rusco.[16] The cost of the duplication between 2004 and 2009 was €1.1 billion.[9]