APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080003-4
in 1975 High speed operation requires increasing the radius of curvature from 9,840 to 14,925 feet and double-track spacing from the customary 11'8" from center to center of track to 13'1⅓" to allow for the air pressure created by passing trains.
Long periods of heavy rain and early spring floods destroy tracks and wash out bridges and embankments in low-lying areas. Landslides and avalanches add to maintenance difficulties in mountainous areas. Track construction and maintenance are highly mechanized. Routine maintenance is performed by regularly employed personnel, and new construction and major maintenance projects are awarded to private contractors. An adequate supply of modern maintenance machinery and powerful snow-removal equipment permits fast repair and maintenance.
Passenger traffic, the more important type of transport on the FS system, increased in 1971 by 11% over 1967. Due to an economic recession during 1970-71, freight traffic decreased 2.6% over the same period. FS passenger and freight traffic statistics for 1967 and 1971 were as follows:
| 1967 | 1971 | |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers transported (millions) | 312.2 | 347.3 |
| Passenger miles (billions) | 17.3 | 21.0 |
| Passenger-train-miles (millions) | 114.7 | 125.6 |
| Average length of journey (miles) | 51.0 | 60.6 |
| Freight hauled (million short tons) | 68.1 | 59.7 |
| Short-ton-miles (billions) | 11.6 | 11.7 |
| Freight-train-miles (millions) | 38.6 | 39.8 |
| Average length of haul per short ton (miles) | 209.0 | 217.2 |
The principal types of commodities and percent of the total freight carried in carloads on FS lines are as follows: agriculture products, including foodstuffs, fodder and livestock, 24%; metal products, 17%; machinery, vehicles, and relate products, 14%; minerals and scrap metal, 14%; raw and manufactured products and building materials, 13%; chemicals and fertilizers, 9%; petroleum products, 5%; and coal and coke, 4%. In 1971 rail import (64%)-export (36%) traffic amounted to 28.5 million short tons of about 44% of the total FS carload traffic, an increase of 3.5 million short tons over 1967. International container traffic has greatly increased, and 43,590 containers totaling 781,973 short tons were handled at the international container terminal at Milano-Rogoredo in 1970. The annual number of freight cars loaded totaled 3.2 million.
In 1970 non-Federal railroads carried 114.5 million passengers (a decrease of 24 million over 1966) 1.5 billion passenger miles and hauled 4.8 million short tons of freight 68.6 million short-ton-miles (an increase of 2.6 million short tons over 1966). The average passenger journey was 11.5 miles, and the average length of haul per short ton was 17.1 miles. Freight consists primarily of consumer goods and construction materials, ore, and coal.
The FS continues to operate at a loss; in 1960 the operating ratio was 111% compares to 156% in 1970. In 1970 the FS income from all sources, including rail ferry traffic, was equivalent to US$998 million, and expenditures were US$1.559 billion. Italian authorities contend that a deficit will continue for years as the government provides inexpensive public transportation and preferential freight rates for its nationalized industry. The annual FS operating deficits are subsidized by the national treasury.
Non-Federal railroads also operate at a deficit; in 1967 the operating ratio was 134%.
The FS has three train-ferry routes in operation, two crossing the Stretto di Messina, from Villa San Giovanni to Messina (5 miles) and Reggio di Calabria to Messina (9.3 miles), and the third crossing the Tyrrhenian Sea from Civitavecchia to Golfo Aranci, Sardinia (132 miles). The train-ferry fleet totals 14 vessels; 7 have a capacity from 14 to 30 two-axle freight cars, and 7 can carry 30 to 43 two-axle freight cars. In addition to rail cars, all train ferries carry trucks, automobiles, and passengers. The two ferry routes to Sicily accounted for 708,988 freight cars and 9.3 million passengers in 1970. The Sardinia route accounted for 58,878 freight cars and 331,474 passengers during the same period. With minor adjustments the ferries can serve any of the three routes. Messina has four train ferry landing slips, Villa San Giovanni has three, and Reggio Calabria, one; Civitavecchia and Golfo Aranci have one each and an additional slip is under construction at each of the two ports.
The 10-year development plan of 1962-72, which provided for expenditures of US$2.4 billion, did not achieve all its objectives but resulted in increasing FS efficiency and operations. A 6-year extension plan (1972-78) calls for an additional expenditure of US$1.76 billion partly to help complete work of the 10-year plan and further expand capacity. Initial expenditures of the extension plan include US$62.9 million for quadrupling tracks from Milano-Rogoredo to Melegnano (7 miles), Venice to Mestre (6 miles), and Florence to Prato (10 miles), and for double tracking from Chiomonte to Bussoleno (8.7 miles) on the Torino to Modane, France, line. An additional US$66.9 million is to be spent on freight traffic improvements, such as modernizing classification yards and container terminals, and US$108.8 million
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080003-4
