Ragusa and Trains

The beautiful baroque city of Ragusa, in the Southeastern Sicily, is served from the railroad since from the 18 June 1893. In that date infact the Comiso-Modica line was inaugurated, making part of a longer route that still today circumnavigates all the southern part of Sicily, from Siracusa until Licata and then beyond until Canicattì. The opening of this long line of 264 Km was made step by step, leaving from 1886. Just the most difficult part between Modica and Ragusa was complicated to build, because of orography of the zone: the railroad from Siracusa, after having last the stations of Pozzallo and Ispica, goes to north in order to slip into one tight valley full of rocks in which Scicli and its station is found. Between galleries and bridges, the railroad snakes from one side to the other of the valley which in some points assumes connotations of a true  American canyon. Always directed to north, the line reaches Modica - other beautiful center of historic and artistic interest - passing, shortly before entering in the beautiful station in curve, under to the high viaduct of the statal road. In Modica the yard is enough wide, because center of freight traffics and until the last years ' 70 of a Depot of Locomotives. Infact for the pushing service on the hard climbs of this line, the Depot of Modica has had in charge the last steam locomotives of the group 740 assigned in Sicily, between which the 244 now used for historical services between Sicily and Calabria. As soon as left again from Modica, the trains slips into a long gallery that underpasses the city until coming up again in a parallel valley to that holded before from the railroad. Here the line continues still north along the course of the Irminio river, then overpassed with a metallic bridge little before the station of Ragusa Ibla. This station - before called Inferior Ragusa - is equipped of water tower and wide yard because also here were parked the locomotives that eventually were added in pushing the trains in climb towards Ragusa. Little after to have left this station, the rail curves decidedly towards the west until completing a curve of 180° in southern direction to then take another gallery under the cliff that supports the baroque city. The exit of this long gallery in curve and along a grade is right under Ragusa, in one tightened throat dominated from the houses of the city. As soon as exited, the train passes under a short gallery with rock portals and newly get into another long gallery in curve and climb that with an elicoidal that take the railway to the quota the city. In the open part of this hairpin curve can be enjoyed one seen on all the old city, that "assists" to the passage of the trains on the curve like in a cinematographic resumption. With an ulterior curve the line take again in north direction and reached finally the station of Ragusa. The Ragusa yard has a wide freight park and only two rails for the passenger traffic. All the station is positioned along a light curve. The line for Canicattì continues from here still with a curve that take the trains towards south and then west, where the unique rail continues with easier course to Genisi, Donnafugata (optimal place of wine coltivation) and Comiso. Exiting from Ragusa until 1948 a railroad to 950mm existed, placed side by side to FS line that carried the narrow steam trains of the SAFS with a long encircling way through Villa Pozzi and Santa Rosalia to take then side by side the state road 194 in north direction until to Bivio Giarratana. Here still to north it arrived to Vizzini, in a station whose building exists still today in front to FS station of the Catania-Gela line. Taking instead the branch towards  west with an exausting trackage it arrived until Siracusa. On the FS line took service steam locomotives of the RS with insufficient power, replaced in years ' 20 from the first 740s. In the middle of the 30's arrived the first ALn.56 FIAT and from then nearly all the passenger services were entrusted to the Littorine. The steam remained in charge of the numerous freight trains and of the directed service with a coach from Rome for Vittoria via Siracusa. The successive generations saw the arrival of the ALn.668.1500 and 1600 FIAT and the diesel locomotives D.343 and D.443 in place of steam locos. The direct service from Vittoria to Rome, then reduced to the Ragusa-Rome, in the last years was composed from one or two X coaches trailed by D.343. It has been suppressed with the timetable change of 1998. The freight traffic always has been characterized from heavy loaded in period of vegetable or wine collection, with trains commodities directed to the north and also to the foreign nations. From years ' 50 the cargo of the petrochemical pole of Gela, with tank wagons and container in more recent times. The double and triple tractions heading the freights disappeared from Ragusa and this line when in November 1979 opened the line - under construction since 1928 - Caltagirone-Gela of the line coming from Catania. With this short and more modern route was possible to avoid the long siracusan turn and from then remained only the commodities trains. With the tendency of the freight transports in the last few decades, this kind of goods disappeared also and a single couple of freight with wagons of varied types remained to cover these sunny and silent landscapes. The show offered from a couple of tired 668 or a freight even not so long with a 343 in full effort on the hairpin curve on Ragusa remains unique. From September 2004 the last freight that touch Ragusa continuing to Ispica have changed timetable regularity and from January 2006 it has been definitively suppressed, leaving Modica, Ispica and our panoramic line completely unprovided of trains of this type. Although this, the trains with D.343/443 arrive still 3 times a week to Ragusa, coming from Gela and Comiso. The traffic is characterized from long theories of Gabs wagons directed to Enichem/ANIC plant, that possesses a long connection to FS station on Modica side. The railroad leaves FS area through a passage and a short trench in curve in southern direction. It crosses then via Spadola and follows in separate roadbed along tree-lined avenue that leads to the Industrial Zone. The trains  on the link are in charge to a reconstructed locomotive with 3 axles, it moves early in the morning. Ragusa conjugates multiple aspects in order to deserve a visit: optimal cultural and artistic cues, famous kitchen and valuable wines and splendid landscapes to pick in our railway releases. Better period for a visit is the spring or the autumn and therefore: good travel!

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