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Railways in Italy are run by FS, the state-owned railway network but the history of railway travel in Italy goes back to before the time the country, as it now exists, was united. The first tracks were laid in 1839 in what was then the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (officially established in 1808 but its history goes back to the Middle Ages when it was also united with part of what is now Spain – the Kingdom basically comprised the whole of southern Italy plus Sicily and had its capital at Naples – it was absorbed into "Italy" in 1861). The line was just under five miles in length. Further lines followed, often built more for military use than passenger, though fare-paying passengers soon began to use this new form of transport. Over time several companies established lines in various parts of the country. By 1875 a line linking Florence and Rome had been completed. By 1884, after a few of the smaller railway companies had gone bust a large company, formed under state control, was established to run most of the railways throughout Italy.
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By 1905, with about 6,500 miles of track, the Ferrovie del Stato (FS) was set up. Railways continued to expand though there was considerable damage during the Great War. By 1922 however, things had improved and a major expansion began, linking all the major cities and making transport much easier. Electrification of main lines began, new stations were built and it was a good time to be in the railway industry in Italy. In 1937 an EMU made a run between Rome and Naples reaching 125 mph. In freight, FS introduced refrigerated trains to carry fresh food from the south to the north and on into other parts of mainland Europe.
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The Second World War wrought terrible destruction on Italy, including its rail network and it took many years for reconstruction. By the 1960s high speed trains were being introduced and Italy had entered into the TEE (Trans Europe Express) system, running through trains to other countries. The E444 electric locomotives wee introduced, running at over 200 km/h (125 mph) on a regular basis. In the mid 1970s new rolling stock was introduced on many local lines and the famous Pendolino made its first appearance, capable of running at 250 km/h (155 mph), tilting as it cornered to avoid slowing down. The Pendolino (see separate page – "Tilting Trains") was continuously upgraded until capable of running at 300 km/h (186 mph – the same as today's TGV).
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Today railways cover Italy with over 16,000 kms (almost 10,000 miles) of track. Over 500 million passengers travel each year and something like 75 million tonnes of freight is carried each year. The high speed services between major cities are excellent – Milan to Rome is achieved in 4 hours 30 minutes; Rome-Naples in less than 90 minutes with fares that are very affordable compared to some other countries.
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