Ferrovia Circumetnea



The Ferrovia Circumetnea (roughly translated as "Round-Etna Railway") is a narrow-gauge,, regional railway line in Sicily. It was constructed between 1895 and 1898.

As the name suggests, the 110 km line follows a route which almost completely encircles the Mount Etna volcano. From its terminal in Catania the line starts off westward and loops around Mount Etna in a clockwise direction (as seen on the map), eventually reaching the other terminal at the seaside town of Riposto, approximately 28 km northeast of Catania.

The original terminal was at Catania Porto, although Catania Central (the mainline station) was the last stop for the trains. However, in the 1990s the section from there to Catania Borgo (4 km long) was converted to standard gauge and moved underground for most of its length for use as a new metro (Metropolitana di Catania). The original terminus, the Porto station, was also reinstated. Therefore, the Circumetnea trains now terminate at Catania Borgo.

The Ferrovia Circumetnea (FCE) also operates the Metropolitana. The offices for both are at Catania Borgo.

FCE operates The DMU 001-004, multiple units diesel of construction Newag. They were in service with four more on order as of late 2017. On 15 June 2024, the movement of trains on the Catania Borgo - Paternò route was suspended motivated by the alleged interference with the construction sites (currently being opened) for construction works on the subway variant, with associated change of gauge, until Paternal. The railway services are replaced with bus services which will travel the almost parallel road route on the SS121, entering the towns at the stops to be served.