Railways: Rimini – San Marino, the railway of the oldest republic in the world
It is not the smallest railway in the world, that primacy remains in fact in the Vatican City (just over a kilometer long with only a few hundred meters in papal territory).
it is though, the railway that belongs to the oldest Republic in the world and is the only one that has that of a nation in its name. And the Rimini – San Marinoa line born in 1932, oppressed in 1944 and which over time has generated great attention up to being able to be reopened, albeit for a few meters, in these days.
There is time until 8 January to get on the so-called “Blue-White Train”, a narrow-gauge train that has been put back on track to make a very short stretch, full of charm and historical evocation. The initiative, desired by the San Marino government, was also born thanks to the administrative technical committee chaired by the FS Foundation and had the Treno Bianco Azzurro Association among its promoters. The latter is a reality, born in 2012, which includes a group of history and railway enthusiasts and who have in their dreams the desire to be able to arrive, one day, in Italy with a train from San Marino.
“For now it’s a question of a few hundred meters – the president of the association Alessandro Rattini told fsnews.it – but for us it’s already something historic, it’s a unique railway line in the world. There are tourists who come from countries like Austria and Norway who, when on holiday in our tiny Republic, ask us for information about this train. It’s a pride for us.” In these days of reactivation of the short stretch, relating to the Montale tunnel near Mount Titano, there were over a thousand onlookers who boarded the convoy, large numbers for a small state like San Marino. The short trip is also an opportunity to hear the story of this railway line.
«The line was born in the ’30s thanks to Italy – Alessandro Rattini continued – an agreement between the two nations. Yours would have provided us with the railway line, we would have granted us a radio broadcasting station which at that time represented a very important means of communication. Among other things, it is precisely because of this agreement that RAI still holds shares in the capital of San Marino RTV, the main national radio and television broadcaster in San Marino».
Train, communication, Italy and San Marino a journey through history, geography and cultural closeness between two republics which, although different in size, have always been very united in important decisions. Precisely because of this strong link, the involvement, for the first time in a foreign context, of FS Foundation it felt almost natural.
Furthermore, the Treno Bianco Azzurro Association recently published a book “The Rimini San Marino Electric Railway” with a preface by Luigi Cantamessa, General Manager of the FS Foundation. The volume, presented on 28 December, was also an opportunity for Luigi Cantamessa to explain how much yesterday’s train should be the protagonist of tomorrow.
«The Rimini San Marino line – said the Director of the FS Foundation – has moved more emotions than travellers. A particular story, similar to that of other Italian railways. Fruit of a fashion of the 60s which saw the private car being preferred to the train, wiping out works that would have been fundamental today, it was enough to modernize and instead they have been abandoned.
Mistakes of the past with which we must make peace by restoring these works. In fact, the railways are not monuments in the desert, but infrastructures created to transport tourists and commuters. For this reason, attempts to revive Rimini San Marino must not cease, because in this historic period, not only national but European politics has also understood that the train is the best means of transport».
After 8 January, once the initiative has ended, what will be the announced moves for the suggestive railway line? «The restoration of the Treno Bianco Azzurro stimulates dreams – replied Federico Pedini Amati, Secretary of State for Tourism of San Marino – but today it can become reality with a minimal investment compared to what could be the benefits of this initiative.
I will work with influence, as already demonstrated, for the recovery and restoration of the TrenoBianco Azzurro, at least for the Borgo Maggiore – City section, as an alternative means to the cable car for the creation of new flows, as a sustainable transport, for the relief of traffic congestion in the Historic Center, as a work of historical interest and above all as a tourist attraction without equal. Today, in Italy and in Europe, the recovered railways attract tourists and create related businesses. I believe that the Republic of San Marino should not let this opportunity slip away».
Source FS news – Photo Facebook Association Treno Bianco Azzurro (Official) San Marino – Rimini railway