Verona Porta Nuova railway station

Verona Porta Nuova

The station and city bus stop.

The station and city bus stop.
Location Piazzale 25 Aprile, 6
37138 Verona
Verona, Verona, Veneto
Italy
Coordinates 45°25′45″N 10°58′56″E / 45.429167°N 10.982222°E / 45.429167; 10.982222Coordinates: 45°25′45″N 10°58′56″E / 45.429167°N 10.982222°E / 45.429167; 10.982222
Owned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Operated by Grandi Stazioni
Line(s) Milan–Venice
Verona–Bologna
Verona–Innsbruck
Verona–Mantua–Modena
Verona–Legnago–Rovigo
Train operators Trenitalia
Thello
Trenord
Connections
  • Urban, long distance and airport buses
History
Opened 1851
Location
Verona Porta Nuova
Location within Northern Italy

Verona Porta Nuova is the main railway station of the City of Verona. It is situated at Piazzale 25 Aprile, south of the city centre and from there a 25-minute walk or 10-minute bus ride. This station was opened in 1852 and substantially rebuilt between 1910 and 1922. It was reconstructed again between 1946 and 1949 after being destroyed by allied bombings during the Second World War.

Verona Porta Nuova station provides major connections within Italy and Europe: it is an interchange on the east-west mainline Milan-Venice and the north-south mainline Brenner-Bologna, which reaches further towards Florence and Rome. The station handles 25 million passengers annually. Construction of a new high-speed railway from Milan has commenced in 2014; the Verona–Venice high-speed railway is currently under planning.

History

The first train to arrive at Verona Porta Nuova station, in 1852, was driven by the locomotive Verona on the new line from Venice, which had crossed the Adige (Etsch) river on a then-recently completed bridge. In 1853, it became possible to operate trains from Verona to Mantova/Mantua on a single-track line. In the same year, the Brenner railway was under construction by the Austrian Empire to provide a trans-alpine railway link between Lombardy-Venetia and Tyrol over the Brenner Pass at 1,371 m.

The initial station building was a temporary wooden structure in 1851; it was replaced in 1852 by a small masonry building. The masonry, however, had an odd shape: a part of its front had eight arched openings, which went further forward than the other part with only three. Upon its opening, the Porta Nuova station was less important than the Porta Vescovo station, which was located near a major Austrian military camp. At that time, Verona, called Bern-im-Wälsch, was one of the Austrian Empire's main military strongholds with a capacity of 120,000 troops. The Porta Nuova station was initially used only by the two of the three classes of passenger trains then in the region: "omnibus" and "mixed" trains. It did not handle the fastest, most expensive "direct" trains or offer any baggage service.

Network Expansion: Austria

In 1853, the Verona-Mantua-Modena services commenced partial operation up to Sant'Antonio Mantovano station, north of River Mincio and just outside Mantova/Mantua. This railway line became extended to Modena in 1874 and joined up the railway line to Bologna.

In 1854, the railway line between Verona and Venice was extended westwards to Brescia and Bergamo. The Brenner railway to Bolzano/Bozen, constructed in 1859, was extended over the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck in 1867. Construction of the Brenner Railway gave further impetus to the Austrian defence in Verona, until the transfer of the Veneto region to Italy as a result of Austria's defeat in the Austro-Italian War (1866).

The railway line to Rovigo opened in 1877. A more direct line to Bologna, via Isola della Scala and Nogara, was inaugurated in 1924.[1][2]

Expansion: Italy

With the absorption of Veneto into Italy in 1866, the Milan–Venice railway came under the management of the Upper Italian Railways. The size of this early-19th-century station was no longer sufficient in handling rail traffic; Porta Nuova was therefore designated as the main station of Verona. In 1900, the building was temporarily enlarged with a central wooden building, while projects were being developing for the new station. Architects initially envisaged the station comprising six platforms with additional tracks for the storage of rolling stock and for freight train operations.

First Reconstruction (1910s)

Work on reconstructing the new station building, designed by the architect Dini, began in 1910 and was almost complete in 1913, albeit in a preliminary form. The proposed building would be 114 metres long and 20 metres high, contain a central dome and two smaller buildings on its side, and hoist a canopy along its facade. The central section would host the ticket office and luggage facility; there would be a waiting room on the left was and a buffet the right. Offices would occupy the second floor. These plans, however, were not well-received among the Veronese.

By early 1915, the new freight facilities were already in operation, including the commissioning of a large goods yard and locomotive depot. The outbreak of the First World War halted reconstruction work of the station. The formal re-opening, therefore, was delayed until 22 March 1922.

The re-opened station's interior was decorated with mosaics by the master mosaic artist, Amedeo Mantellato, of Venice. In the 1920s, a track connection was built between the Brenner line and the goods yard. In the 1930s a new depot for locomotives was added to the storage facilities. Electrification of the lines around Verona was completed in 1941.[3][4]

Second Reconstruction (post-1945)

The station was partially destroyed by bombing during World War II. The first isolated bombing raid of the station was carried out by a formation of four aircraft on 21 October 1940; the raid made use of cluster bombs and incendiaries. In total, the city has suffered twenty bombing raids. Two of the toughest attacks took place on 4 and 28 January 1945 and the station was rendered unusable.[5]

In September 1946, the station was rebuilt on the same site to a design by the architect Roberto Narducci. This rebuilt station, aesthetically very different from the original, though structurally similar, was completed in March 1949. Many types of marble from Verona were used, covering an area of 4,000 m²; the floors were laid out with mosaics composed of ceramic tiles and the furniture was installed that was designed to harmonise with the building.[6][7]

The new station carried over from the previous station a gap between its elevated platforms and the level of the pedestrian areas outside the station. This peculiarity has forced services to be organised on two floors: on the ground floor there are services for business travellers and the public, while rail-related services are located on the upper floor. The platforms have metal roofs in Art Nouveau style (even with those that survived from the previous station); whereas the roofs of the central and two lateral buildings are made of reinforced concrete. The current station building, however, does not include any elements of historical and architectural heritage.

Renovation (2014-15)

The station has been included in the program of rehabilitation among major Italian stations, carried out by Grandi Stazioni, a subsidiary of the Italian State Railway. It would be renovated in order to accommodate the Milan–Verona high-speed railway and the Verona–Venice high-speed railway.

The station area, managed by Grandi Stazioni, extends over an area of 127,500 m² with buildings occupying 22,840 m². Among these, 2730 m² will be involved in the first phase of the renovation.[7] In April 2014, the information boards (train departures and arrivals) at the station's main ticket hall has been upgraded from analog to digital display.

The bus station area has been reorganised for the winter bus timetable from 14 September 2015 onwards: the western area became an outdoor garden at ground level, a short-stay car park and underground parking spaces. The urban (city) and extraurban (suburban and intercity) bus stops have been extended westwards and rearranged to bring some routes closer to the main area. A new waiting hall, which would host the ticket office, is being built at the bus station.

Passenger statistics

Platforms

Verona Porta Nuova is used by about 68,000 passengers each day and a total of 25 million annually. It is the ninth busiest railway station in Italy.[7] The station area is the centre of Verona's transport network: the Bus Terminal is located directly in front of station building and hosts services by ATV Verona (“Azienda Trasporti Verona”, ATV) to Verona-Villafranca Airport and popular tourist attractions along Lake Garda.

Station

The station building of Verona Porta Nuova has 4 storeys:[7]

Train services

The station is served by the following services as of December 2015:

Domestic (High Speed)

From 1 March 2016, Italo NTV launches the new route Brescia-Naples.

Domestic

International

(D for Germany, A for Austria, CH for Switzerland)

International (Night Services)

(D for Germany, A for Austria, R for Russia, BR for Belarus, PL for Poland, CZ for Czech Republic, F for France)

^ Train recouples at Verona to provide Milan-Vienna and Rome-Munich services.


Preceding station   Trenitalia   Following station
Frecciargento
toward Roma Termini
Terminus
Frecciargento
toward Roma Termini
Frecciabianca
Frecciabianca
toward Udine
Rovereto
toward München Hbf
EuroCity
Rovereto
toward München Hbf
EuroCity
toward Bologna Centrale
toward München Hbf
EuroNight
Terminus
toward Nice-Ville
Intercity Notte
Intercity Notte
Orvieto
toward Roma Termini
TerminusTreno regionale
Domegliara-Sant'Ambrogio
toward Brennero
Treno regionale
Isola della Scala
toward Brescia
Treno regionale
Domegliara-Sant'Ambrogio
Treno regionaleTerminus
TerminusTreno regionale
Buttapietra
TerminusTreno regionale
Buttapietra
toward Rovigo
TerminusTreno regionale
Dossobuono
toward Mantova
Preceding station   Thello   Following station
Thello
toward Venice
Preceding station   Trenord   Following station
EuroCity
EuroNight
toward Wien Hbf
Treno regionaleTerminus
toward Brescia
Treno regionaleTerminus

See also

References

  1. ↑ Facchinelli, L. (1995). La ferrovia Verona-Brennero. Storia della linea e delle stazioni nel territorio (The Verona–Bologna railway, history of the line and its stations) (in Italian). Bolzano: Athesia. pp. 86–88.
  2. ↑ "Chronological overview of the opening of railway lines from 1839 to 31 December 1926" (in Italian). Trenidicarta.it. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Facchinelli, L. (1995). La ferrovia Verona-Brennero. Storia della linea e delle stazioni nel territorio (The Verona–Bologna railway, history of the line and its stations) (in Italian). Bolzano: Athesia. pp. 89–96.
  4. ↑ Kalla-Bishop, P. M. (1971). Italian Railways. Newton Abbott, Devon, England: David & Charles. p. 113. ISBN 0-7153-5168-0.
  5. ↑ Facchinelli, L. (1995). La ferrovia Verona-Brennero. Storia della linea e delle stazioni nel territorio (The Verona–Bologna railway, history of the line and its stations) (in Italian). Bolzano: Athesia. pp. 97–98.
  6. ↑ Priante, G. (2006). L'Arena e Verona: 140 anni di storia (The Arena and Verona: 140 years of history) (in Italian). Verona: Athesis. p. 99.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Verona Porta Nuova". Italy’s major stations. Ferrovie dello Stato. Retrieved 22 January 2010.

External links

Media related to Verona Porta Nuova railway station at Wikimedia Commons


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