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The Genova-Ventimiglia railway runs along the coast of the Liguria region of Italy. It was opened as a single track line between Genova and Savona in 1868, and between Savona and Ventimiglia in 1872, mostly running along a coastal corniche. The line is being doubled mainly by building an entirely new double track line parallel to the existing railway, because the line often runs through towns where there is no space for a second track. The new line also increases the maximum speed from 100 to 180 km/h. The line is mainly in tunnels: 61 km of the 74 km of line between Ospedaletti and Finale Ligure is underground, and the rest of the line has similar proportions. The longest tunnel is Caponero-Capoverde (13.135 km). This tunnel includes the new Sanremo station. The new line has fewer stations than the old, leaving some towns without a railway service. Another disadvantage is that being mainly in tunnel the new line will not offer tourists spectacular views of the Riviera coast as the old line did. As of 2007, 18 km of new double track line are under construction (San Lorenzo-Andora) and 32 km are in the planning stage (Andora-Finale Ligure). ==History== The idea of a railway along the Ligurian coast began in March 1857 with what was called the ''Railway of the Ligurian Riviera'' (Italian: ''Ferrovia delle Riviere Liguri'') with the inauguration of a project for a railway from the Var river in Nice—then the border of the Kingdom of Sardinia and France—to the Magra river—which then marked the border Sardinia of and Duchy of Modena. This was part of the ambitious project for the building of a railway system, considered by Cavour as an important part of the process of Italian unification. A railway was already in operation for a short distance west from Genoa, between the stations of Sampierdarena and Voltri, opened on 8 April 1856, which branched off the Turin–Genoa line. The rapid progress in the creating the Kingdom of Italy gave further impetus to the project leading to the proclamation of a law on 27 October 1860 establishing the ''Ligurian Railway'' (Italian: ''Ferrovia ligure'') to run along the coast from Ventimiglia to Massa where it would join an existing railway line. Despite the need to build many tunnels and viaducts this work was carried out quickly and the 29 kilometre extension from Genoa to Savona Letimbro was inaugurated on 25 May 1868. In 1865 the line had been absorbed by the newly established Società per le strade ferrate dell'Alta Italia (''Upper Italian Railways''). On 25 January 1872, the line was completed to Ventimiglia. The seven km connection from Ventimiglia to the relocated French border was opened two months later. In the building of the line, its designers did not pay much attention to the needs of the territory through which it was built but instead mainly took into account military considerations and the political purposes of the new Kingdom of Italy. As most transport in the area, both passenger and freight was mainly carried by sea, the selected route ran virtually at sea level, closely following the coast and, where possible the Via Aurelia, linking more than 40 villages that had previously been difficult to reach by land. In 1885, the line was integrated into the new Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo (''Mediterranean System''), which was taken over by the Ferrovie dello Stato in 1905. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Genoa–Ventimiglia railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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