From Bologna to Rome: the Railway Marathon to discover the Italy of soft mobility

An unusual railway journey in the heart of central Italy, between Bologna and Rome, to discover destinations away from mass tourism and learn about the offers of the area for walking and cycling lovers. Without ever using the car. Departs from the station Bologna central on April 27 the 9th edition of the 2023 railway marathon organized by the Alliance for soft mobility AMODO, a consortium of 29 associations that deal with heritage tourism, cycle paths and railways. The tour is offered by Trenitalia to 29 euros and allows you to travel for three consecutive days on regional and local trains.

For the ninth consecutive time, the AMODO Railway Marathon will wind its way through the Italian regions on regional trains to meet representatives of the institutions and associations active in the area and to discover positive experiences of sustainable mobility.

The program

This year is dedicated to the territory ofEtruria and will therefore start at 11 on April 27th going up from Bologna on the train to Porretta Terme using the historic pass of the Porrettana railway. The most spectacular stretch is the one it reaches Pistoia where you can visit with a guide the Historical rolling stock workshops depot establishment dedicated to the recovery and care of historic locomotives, carriages and winches. We leave for Florence and then arrive at Perugia Fontivegge where meetings are planned with the operators of Umbria Sviluppo, an association that will talk about i Paths of San Francesco and will illustrate the routes of the Cycleways.

Friday April 28th we start again from Perugia. Direction: Spoleto. Here will be presented theAtlas of Soft Mobility a digital initiative created by Amodo together with RFI Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and you will visit the ancient terminus of the Spoleto-Norcianow transformed into a cycle path, with Luca Ministrini of the MTB Club Spoleto and, finally, a visit to the underground pedestrian subway.

We leave Spoleto at 15.37 to arrive at Viterbo Porta Fiorentinavia Orte where a meeting with Raimondo Chiricozzi, president of the Committee for the reactivation of the Orte-Capranica-Civitavecchia railway.

Saturday April 29th from Viterbo a train will take you to Anguillara for the delivery of the recognition of Station with High Historical, Touristic and Environmental Value assigned by the Association Europeenne des Cheminots (AEC). Restart from Anguillara and arrive at 11.35 ad Appiano Proba Petronia. Walk to the next station along the stretch of the Monte Ciocci – San Pietro cycle path. Departure from Valle Aurelia with arrival at a Rome Ostiense where at 2 pm in the Astral Transport Museum Pole, in Via Bartolomeo Bossi 7, the future developments of sustainable mobility in Rome will be presented and in particular of the Tram, the Appia Antica and the transformation of the Monte Ciocci-San Pietro former railway bridge into a cycle/pedestrian path .

The delegation is made up, among others, of: Anna Donatispokesman for the Soft Mobility Alliance (AMODO); Massimo FerrariPresident of UTP AssoUtenti, Alessandra BonfantiLegambiente mobility referent; Massimo BottiniItalia Nostra mobility contact person; Bernard GennaroGeneral Councilor of the Association Europeenne des Cheminots (AEC); Andrew RicciLazio Region Transport Observatory; Silvio Cinquini of the Italian Federation of Tourist Railways and Museums (FIFTM) e Agostino Agostinelli by FederParchi.

“It will be a way to verify the intermodality of the stations and the efficiency of the local public transport connections, which are the basis of the revitalization and social sustainability of the internal areas of the country – he declared Anna Donati, AMODO spokesperson. “We will meet the associations and committees present in the territories, as well as obviously the institutions, to discuss projects to upgrade the railways for efficient mobility in the country. The cultural aspect will not be missing, with the path of Porretta lineof great tourist value, and the visit to the Dors of Pistoiathanks to the availability of the FS Foundation.”