Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A., often shortened to FS, is the state-owned railway holding company of Italy. It oversees transport, infrastructure, real estate, and other services both within Italy and in other European nations.

The company’s roots go back to an Italian government law passed on 22 April 1905, which brought most of the country’s railways under state control. This nationalization happened relatively early compared to other European countries. Before that, Italy’s railways—first built in the mid-1800s—had been privately owned and run, though usually subsidized by the Kingdom of Italy. The government’s move to take over the railways came after thirty years of debate and review, driven by the strategic importance of rail for Italy’s economy and territory.

At its start, Ferrovie dello Stato was a unique body: it had its own board of directors but was directly tied to a specific government ministry. Its first director general was Riccardo Bianchi, previously the head of the Sicilian Railways. Over time, the Ministry of Public Works tightened its control, reducing the company’s independence. For instance, from 1909 onward, contracts worth more than 200,000 lire needed ministerial approval.

Early on, the company focused on improving rolling stock quality and output. Between July 1906 and June 1907, the number of trains rose by 20 percent. After complaints about a lack of heating, many trains were fitted with steam heating. From 1906 to 1909, daily trains with gangway connections jumped from 4,600 to 30,100. For safety and faster braking, the Westinghouse air brake was introduced, and the number of trains using it doubled in the first four years. Other upgrades included switching from gas to electric lighting in carriages and research into new steam locomotives. By June 1912, the company owned 5,021 steam locomotives, 151 railcars, 10,037 coaches, 3,371 baggage cars, and 92,990 goods wagons.

The interwar period brought major changes. With the rise of Fascism in the early 1920s, a centralization policy took hold. In late 1922, the board of directors and chief administrator were abolished. Until April 1924, a commissioner appointed by the king ran the institution. After that, the newly created Ministry of Communications—which included rail transport—took over management under Costanzo Ciano. Following labor unrest, employee dissatisfaction, and falling productivity in the 1910s and early 1920s, more than 50,000 of the 226,907 railway workers lost their jobs by June 1922.

During the 1920s and 1930s, heavy investment flowed into the railways. Many new stations opened, others expanded, and several new direct lines (direttissime) were completed. Thanks to this, the Italian rail network reached its maximum length of 23,227 km in 1942. Many lines were double-tracked, allowing faster trains that could reach up to 201 km/h. By the late 1930s, about 60 percent of traction was steam, with the rest split between electric and diesel. Between 1921 and 1937, travel times dropped by more than 20 percent, according to one study.

The most visible change of the interwar period was railway electrification. Small-scale efforts before World War I had electrified 377 km by 1915. In the 1920s alone, the amount of electrified track grew by 243 percent, though it was initially concentrated in northwestern Italy. Major central routes were electrified in the late 1930s, while most southern lines were not electrified until after World War II.

After the armistice of 8 September 1943, Italy was split, and train operations were run separately from headquarters in Salerno (south) and Verona (north). At the end of 1944, the Ministry of Communications was divided, and a new Ministry of Transport was created, which included the general management of Ferrovie dello Stato. In 1945, the company was renamed Azienda Autonoma delle Ferrovie dello Stato.

The post-war period was tough: most of the rail network was badly damaged, and rolling stock was outdated. Reconstruction took place from 1946 to 1950, after which most lines were reopened. The Ministry of Transport had been set up, and the state railways were folded into it but still operated as an autonomous entity.

In the 1950s, more Italians turned to personal transport, including scooters and cars. To compete, the railways developed and introduced a new generation of faster trains, such as the ETR 300. Many sections of the network were electrified and sometimes double-tracked. In 1957, the new ALn 442/448 multiple unit was introduced.