Mantua–Asola Tramway

The Mantua–Asola tramway was an Italian interurban tram line of the provincial tramway network of Mantua, which connected the capital Mantua with Asola between 1886 and 1933.

History

Since the early 1880s, in the province of Mantua there had been debate about the opportunity to build tram lines in the province. The session of the provincial council of 19 April 1880 had indicated the possibility of building the tramways Mantua–Asola, Mantua–Castiglione, Mantua–Ostiglia and Mantua–Viadana. The lines were built by the Belgian Société Anonyme d'Entreprise Generale de Travaux (EGT), which in 1882 had opened the Brescia–Montichiari–Castiglione delle Stiviere section of the .

Steam and battery operation

In March 1886, the imminent opening of the first sections of the lines to Asola and Viadana was announced; on 17 April the Mantua (block post 1)–Gazoldo degli Ippoliti section of the line to Asola was inaugurated, officially opened on Sunday 1 August 1886; this temporary wooden block post stood just outside Porta Belfiore and was built as a temporary terminus while waiting for authorisation from the Rete Adriatica for the level crossing of the three existing railways: on 28 December 1887 the line could be extended from block post 1 to Mantua Ognissanti station, where it connected with the .

The "steam tramways" for Asola and Viadana were initially operated by the company Valentini e Mazzorin, participated in by the and holder of the concession for the construction and operation of both lines; the latter had already been involved in the construction of the Suzzara–Ferrara railway. In 1906 they were taken over by the provincial administration.

With Royal Decree No. 6147 of 20 August 1913, the project presented by the tramway directorate on the previous 21 May for the enhancement of the facilities was approved, consisting of the construction of some passenger buildings and the improvement of access to other facilities.

The line to Asola had been conceived as the first section of a tram line that was to connect with the Cremona–Ostiano Tramway, allowing the provincial tramway network of Cremona to have a further connection with the Mantua network in addition to the existing one at Ponte Majocche, on the Mantua–Viadana Tramway. Economic reasons due to the outbreak of the Italo-Turkish War and World War I postponed the project for years: only in 1929 was Cremona connected to Asola via a Cremona–Asola tramway which branched off at Montanara from the existing line to Ostiano.

Another project, realised only in 1930, envisaged a rapid connection between the Piacenza tram network, operated by the Società Italiana Ferrovie e Tramvie (SIFT), the Cremona network, the Mantua network and Desenzano del Garda (located on a branch of the Brescia–Mantua–Ostiglia line): this service was implemented with the construction of the Medole–Casaloldo tramway, long, which from Casaloldo (on the Mantua–Asola line), passing through Castel Goffredo, reached Medole (on the Brescia–Mantua line).

The Great Depression triggered by the Wall Street crash hit the Mantua lines hard, located in an economic context characterised by the absence of large industries and thriving agriculture, which conditioned the commercial sector and consequently tram transport.

From 1927, battery railcars were introduced into service, which on the one hand improved the service, but also proved to be sources of difficulty: the battery charging station was located in Mantua, and therefore it was not possible to ensure connections at Asola with all the services of the Cremonese Provincial Tramways.

Urban service

Meanwhile, in 1925, the presence of the tramways for Asola and Viadana allowed the construction of two new electrified suburban lines from Mantua to Grazie, which integrated the Mantua tram network serving the Angeli locality and Montanara along the Dosso del Corso road which hosted the tramway to Viadana); a third line was activated in 1928 for the connection with the then new Pompilio hospital.

The urban penetration section, consisting of a specially built track along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II to the terminus in Piazza Cavallotti, was long and was common to the three services to Grazie, Montanara and Pompilio; these works were authorised by Royal Decree No. 2232 of 5 November 1925. All lines were electrified with overhead line supported by Mannesmann tubular poles.

In 1926, the operating company assumed the name Provincial Tramways of Mantua (TPM) and subsequently Mantuan Electric Tramways (TEM) until 1953. The last service is dated by authors to 23 May or the morning of 30 May 1953.

Even so modernised, however, the service was destined not to last long: in 1933 bus services were introduced to supplement and replace the tram service on the Mantua–Ostiglia line as well, and in the same year services to the Asola and Viadana termini were also replaced by buses operated by Lazzi e Govigli; the Asola tramway closed on 1 October 1933, replaced by buses from the same company. Part of the track was reused the following year for the renewal of the line to Casalmaggiore and Ostiano of the TPC.

The electrified section to Grazie remained in service until 1953, the year of the definitive suppression of the network.

Characteristics

The tram line was standard gauge of , and developed for , of which on its own right-of-way. The maximum gradient was 20 mm/m and the minimum radius of curves was . The maximum permitted speed was for steam trams and for electric railcars.

Rolling stock

On the Mantua tramways, initially seven two-axle steam locomotives of tramway type, built in 1885 by Maffei, operated. Between 1889 and 1908, three other locomotives of a similar type, also of Maffei construction, were added.

Between 1927 and 1928, four battery-powered bogie railcars, built by the Milanese company Rognini & Balbo with electrical parts from Tecnomasio Italiano Brown Boveri, entered service. These railcars could carry 70 people and reach a maximum speed of . The first two units were new builds, while the latter two were rebuilt from as many bogie trailers. When the Mantua tramways closed, they were sold in 1935 to the Monza–Trezzo–Bergamo tramway, where they remained in service until 1958.

The trailer stock in service on the Provincial Tramways of Mantua network consisted of 24 two-axle carriages, two bogie carriages (to be used with the Rognini & Balbo railcars), 40 closed freight wagons and 67 open freight wagons.

Motor stock - summary table

See also

• History of rail transport in Italy
• List of railway stations in Lombardy
• Mantua railway station
• Mantua–Viadana Tramway
• Monza–Trezzo–Bergamo tramway
• Cremona–Ostiano Tramway
• Casalmaggiore–Ponte Majocche Tramway
• Cremona–Asola Tramway

Bibliography