Trieste–Opicina tramway

As a rack and adhesion line Although the Austrian Southern Railway first arrived in Villa Opicina in 1857, the Villa Opicina railway station was situated some distance from the village, and the local topography forced a circuitous railway route between Opicina and Trieste. As a result, various projects were promoted to link the two places more directly, resulting eventually in the construction of the Opicina Tramway by the Società Anonima delle Piccole Ferrovie di Trieste. August 2016 accident On 14 August 2016, trams 404 and 405 were involved in a collision at the passing loop at Conconello on the upper section of the line. Both cars were badly damaged, whilst eight passengers and both drivers were injured, with six requiring hospital treatment. Since only three cars were in operational condition following the accident, service on the line was temporarily suspended and replaced by buses. The two damaged cars were repaired by early 2017, Throughout the years, two of the cars were in the open air in the depot yard, while a third remained abandoned in the street in Trieste where the dummy is engaged. A platform and turning circle for the bus 2 and 2/ have been constructed at Villa Opicina station. The bus pauses at the tram depot to allow a ticket to be purchased at the bar adjacent to the depot. There were reports of test runs in July and November 2022. 2024 testing and reopening On 18 December 2024, testing began with trams running without passengers "on a trial basis". Following these tests, TPL will assess when trams can resume full passenger operation, 8 years after it was suspended. The tram resumed operations on 1 February 2025. == Route ==

, haulage cables and a second-generation cable tractor. Description The line has a total length of , and climbs from just above sea level in Trieste to a height of in Opicina. The line is of , and is single-tracked with eleven intermediate stops and four passing loops. The terminus in Piazza Oberdan has two tracks, although only one is normally used. Between Piazza Oberdan and Piazza Scorcola, a distance of some , the line runs in the street along the Via Martiri Della Libertà through a built-up urban area. Stops From the Trieste end of the line, the line serves stops at: • Piazza Oberdan (terminus) • Piazza Scorcola • ''Sant'Anastasio'' • Romagna • Vetta Scorcola • Cologna Campo Sportivo • Cologna Chiesetta • Conconello • Banne • Obelisco • Campo Romano • Via Nazionale • Villa Opicina (terminus) == Equipment ==

Tramcars The line is operated by six steel-bodied four-axle electric tramcars numbered 401-402 and 404–407. Cars 401-405 were built in 1935 by Officine Meccaniche Stanga with Tecnomasio Italiano Brown Boveri electrical components. Cars 406-407 were built in 1942 by the same companies to a similar design, although war-time shortages resulted in a more basic interior and different window detail. Car 403 was subsequently destroyed in an accident on 28 November 1975. The cars take electricity from a 550 Volts DC overhead line. Each car is long, wide and high, with 50 seats and a total carrying capacity of 120 passengers. They have four motors, giving a maximum speed of , and are equipped for rheostatic braking, in addition to air brakes, electro-magnetic track brakes and hand brakes. Two of the original wooden-bodied four-wheel tramcars still exist. The original car 1 was built in 1902, at Graz in Austria, by Grazer Waggonfabrik with electrical components from Österreichische Union-Elektrizitätsgesellschaft. On the arrival of cars 401–407, it was converted into a works car numbered 411. In 1992 it was restored to its original condition and sees occasional service as a museum car. Car 6 has also survived and been recently restored, having been displayed as a static exhibit at the railway museum in Trieste Campo Marzio station. Cable tractors On the funicular section of the line, the tramcars are pushed uphill and braked downhill by cable tractors, also known as cable dummies or, in Italian, carro scudo. These vehicles are permanently attached to the haulage cable. They are not coupled to the tramcars; gravity holds the lower end of the tramcar against the upper end of the cable tractor. There have been three generations of cable tractors on the line. The first generation of cable tractors was introduced in 1928, and had long box-shaped bodies. These cars were replaced in 1978 by two new vehicles, manufactured by Fuji Electric. These had a very different appearance, with only a short control cabin in the centre of the long chassis. Both these first two generations of cable tractor were operated by their own driver, separately from the driver of the tramcar. In 2005, a third generation of unmanned cable tractors was introduced. These tractors are operated remotely by the drivers of the tramcars. Without the need for a cabin to accommodate a driver, these new cable tractors are low-profile vehicles, and thus do not obstruct the vision of the tramcar driver or the passengers when running downhill with the tractor leading. == See also ==