Bologna tramway

This article is about the tram network currently under construction in Bologna. For Bologna's first-generation tram system that operated from 1880–1963, see Trams in Bologna.

The Bologna tramway network (Italian: Rete tranviaria di Bologna) is a tramway network under construction in Bologna, Italy.

Trams in Bologna (2026)
Overview
Locale	Bologna, Italy
Transit type	Tram
Number of lines	2 under construction (as of 2024),[1] out of 4 foreseen[2]
Number of stations	50 (lines 1+2)[3]
Operation
Operation will start	2026[3]
Technical
System length	22.4 km (lines 1+2)[3]
Track gauge	1435 mm
Electrification	700 V DC[3]
System map Legend (Padua–Bologna railway) Bologna Corticella railway station Corticella Stazione Deposito Nord Shakespeare Sant'Anna Bentini Sud Facoltà di Agraria Colombarola Deposito Est Lipparini Sighinolfi Roncaglio Pilastro Pinardi Pirandello Marziale Cadriano Bivio Tangenziale, A14 De Giovanni San Donnino Fiera Michelino Bologna Ring Railway Viale Fiera San Donato Bologna Zanardi railway station Centro Zanardi Istituto Aldini Repubblica Lombardi Ca' dei Fiori Fiera-Aldo Moro Liberazione Mazza Algardi Zucca (Marconi Express) Matteotti Alta Velocità Bologna Centrale HSR station Bologna Centrale railway station Autostazione --- Electrified area ends --- Mille (Piazza dei Martiri) VIII Agosto Indipendenza Ugo Bassi Lame Riva Reno Porta San Felice --- Electrified area begins --- Saffi Ospedale Maggiore Bologna Prati di Caprara railway station Prati di Caprara Santa Viola-Opificio Golinelli Pontelungo River Reno Fiorini Borgo Panigale railway station Borgo Panigale Stazione Tangenziale, A14 (Verona-Bologna railway) Manuzio Bologna Borgo Panigale Scala railway station Ducati (Milan–Bologna railway) Villaggio INA Marco Emilio Lepido --- Electrified area ends --- Deposito Borgo Panigale

History

The reintroduction of a tram network in Bologna was foreseen by the local Piano Urbano della Mobilità Sostenibile (PUMS, Italian for Urban Sustainable Mobility Plan), adopted on 27 November 2018.^[4][2] Bologna's PUMS suggested the gradual replacement of the main urban bus and trolleybus lines by 4 tram lines:^[5][2]

• Red line: from Borgo Panigale to Centro Agro-Alimentare di Bologna, via Bologna Centrale railway station^[3]
• Green line: from Bologna Corticella railway station to Due Madonne/via Larga, via Bologna Centrale railway station
• Yellow line: from Casteldebole railway station to Rastignano railway station
• Blue line: from Casalecchio Garibaldi railway station to San Lazzaro di Savena railway station

On 7 March 2019, the mayor of Bologna officially announced plans to build a new citywide tramway network.^[6]

As of June 2022, the tender for the executive design and construction of tramway line 1 (red line) has been awarded: the whole line is expected to be operational by 2026.^[7] Funding for construction of line 2 (green line) was approved by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in November 2021; activation is also expected by 2026.^[8] A further segment of line 2 (blue line) was announced on 11 December 2021, with completion to be expected at a later date than the first two lines.^[9] Construction of the first line started on 26 April 2023,^[10][11] while construction of the second line started on 8 August 2024.^[1]

Network

As of August 2024, construction of the following tram lines is underway:

Line		Stations	Length	Opening foreseen
1	Borgo Panigale – Fiera/CAAB	34[12]	16.5 km[12]	2026[12]
2	Via dei Mille – Corticella	19[13]	7.4 km[13]	2026[13]
Network		50*	22.4 km*
* 4 stops and 1.5 km in common between lines 1 and 2.[13]

Furthermore, the following tram lines (or sections) are in the planning stage:

Line		Stations	Length	Planning stage
2	Corticella – Castel Maggiore			A pre-feasibility study has been completed in January 2021
2	Via dei Mille – Casalecchio Palasport railway station			Announced on 11 December 2021[9]

Line 1 (red)

Bologna's tramway network planned for 2026. Line 1 (Borgo Panigale–Fiera/CAAB) and Line 2 (Via dei Mille–Corticella) are included.

Line 1 will have its western terminus at Borgo Panigale Terminal, where a 400-car parking lot is planned, joined with an interchange terminal with intercity bus services. In the opposite direction there will be a double terminus, at the CAAB and at the Michelino parking lot.^[3] The main attractors served by the line are Bologna Borgo Panigale railway station, the Maggiore Hospital, the city center, Bologna Centrale railway station, Bologna's Fiera District, the Pilastro district, the Faculty of Agriculture and the CAAB.^[3]

Line 1 will feature 34 stops, for a total length of 16.5 km, of which 14.5 km with an overhead contact line; the 2-km tracks in the city center, from Porta San Felice to via Matteotti, won't feature any suspended power line, as the tram will be powered by batteries.^[3]

The technical and economic feasibility study for the first line has been carried out by a temporary association of companies formed by Systra, Sotecni, Architecna, Studio Mattioli, Aegis and Cooperativa Archeologia.^[14]

The definitive project was published on 25 November 2020.^[15] The tender for the executive design and construction was launched on 6 August 2021 and closed on 1 December, receiving four bids.^[16]

Tramway construction works in via Ugo Bassi, Bologna, September 2024

As of December 2021, the expected timetable is as follows:^[16]

• Spring 2022: awarding of the executive project and works
• Autumn 2022: approval of the executive project
• End of 2022: start of the works
• 2026: the new tramway line is fully operational.

In May 2022, the tender for the executive design and construction of Line 1 was awarded to a temporary association of companies led by CMB - Cooperativa Muratori e Braccianti di Carpi and including Alstom Ferroviaria, Pavimental and Alstom Transport, for an amount of €320,517,902.^[7]

Construction works started on 26 April 2023.^[10][17]

Line 2 (green)

Line 2 will have its southern terminus at Via dei Mille, in the city centre. In the opposite direction, the northern terminus will be at Via di Vittorio, in the municipality of Castel Maggiore, where a new parking lot and an interchange terminal for intercity bus services has been envisaged. The main attractors served by the line are Bologna Centrale railway station, the Bolognina district, the Corticella district and Bologna Corticella railway station.^[13]

Line 2 will feature 19 stops, for a total length of 7.4 km, of which 4 stops and 1.5 km will be shared with Line 1.^[13]

On 30 December 2020, the technical and economic feasibility study for the construction of the second tram line, the green line, was publicly presented to the Navile district mobility committee, with regard to the tram line stretch between the northern terminus (Corticella) and via dei Mille.^[18] On 7 January 2021, the municipality of Castel Maggiore mandated the municipality of Bologna to submit a pre-feasibility study to the Italian Ministry of Transport for a further extension of the green line to the center of Castel Maggiore.^[19] The joint request for funding, amounting to 222,142,224.26 euros, was sent to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport on 14 January 2021.^[20]

On 3 November, the Ministry approved the full financing of the new line by Next Generation EU funds, which binds its construction by 2026.^[21][22]

Construction works started on 8 August 2024.^[1]

See also

• Italy portal

• List of town tramway systems in Italy
• Rail transport in Italy
• List of tram and light rail transit systems
• Trolleybuses in Bologna

References

1. "Tram, partono i lavori della Linea Verde" [Tram, works have started on the Green Line]. comune.bologna.it (in Italian). Comune di Bologna. 2024-08-07.
2. "Piano Urbano della Mobilità Sostenibile - Relazione" [Urban Sustainable Mobility Plan - Relation] (PDF). pumsbologna.it (in Italian). 2019-11-27.
3. "Progetto di Fattibilità' Tecnica Ed economica della prima linea tranviaria di Bologna [Linea Rossa]" [Technical and economic feasibility project of the first tramway line in Bologna [Red Line]] (PDF). comune.bologna.it (in Italian). Comune di Bologna. 2019-03-07.
4. "Piano Urbano della Mobilità Sostenibile - Documenti" [Urban Sustainable Mobility Plan - Documents]. pumsbologna.it (in Italian). 2019-11-27.
5. "Trasporto pubblico metropolitano (TPM), ecco la rete integrata | Iperbole". Comune.bologna.it.
6. 2019-03-13T08:00:00+00:00. "Four tram lines planned for Bologna". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2020-04-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
7. "Tram, aggiudicato l'appalto per la realizzazione della linea rossa". 13 May 2022.
8. "Finanziato il progetto della Linea Verde del tram dal centro di Bologna a Castel Maggiore". 5 November 2021.
9. "Comune di Bologna".
10. "Partono i cantieri per la realizzazione della linea rossa del tram, il via dal deposito di Borgo Panigale e dal Terminal Michelino-Fiera" (in Italian). 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
11. Alfano, Stefano (2 May 2023). "Works begins on the Red Line: the tram returns to Bologna!". Sustainable Bus. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
12. "Linea Rossa – Un tram per Bologna". Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
13. "Linea Verde – Un tram per Bologna".
14. "La rete tranviaria, una grande opportunità per la città | Iperbole". Comune.bologna.it.
15. "Comune di Bologna".
16. "Presentate quattro proposte per la gara per la realizzazione della Linea Rossa". 10 December 2021.
17. Alfano, Stefano (2 May 2023). "Works begins on the Red Line: the tram returns to Bologna!". Sustainable Bus. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
18. Daniele Ara; Paola Calligola (23 December 2020). "Quartiere Navile. Convocazione Commissione Mobilità e Assetto del Territorio" (PDF). Comune di Bologna (in Italian). Retrieved 11 August 2021..
19. "Verbale di deliberazione del Consiglio Comunale. Mandato al Comune di Bologna di presentare istanza di finanziamento statale relativo al trasporto rapido di massa per la progettazione e realizzazione della diramazione nord della linea rossa tranviaria, insistente su Comune di Bologna e con attestamento in Castel Maggiore - Mandato a presentare uno studio di pre-fattibilità per la prosecuzione della linea fino a Castel Maggiore capoluogo" (PDF). Comune di Castel Maggiore (in Italian). 7 January 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021..
20. "Bologna, parte richiesta Ministero finanziamento II linea tram". AGC GreenCom (in Italian). 14 January 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021..
21. "Trasporto pubblico locale: intesa con Regioni e Enti territoriali sul riparto di 3,6 mld per le metro, 1,3 mld per l'acquisto di bus ecologici e 836 mln per le ferrovie regionali". Ministero delle Infrastrutture e della Mobilità Sostenibili. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
22. "PNRR: approvati i progetti sul TRM". CityRailways. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.

External links

Media related to Tram transport in Bologna at Wikimedia Commons