Palermo Centrale railway station

Palermo Centrale is the main railway station of the Italian city of Palermo, capital of Sicily. It is one of the most important "FS" stations of Italy.

Owner
Along with Catania Centrale, Messina Centrale and Syracuse it is one of the most important stations of its region. It is owned by the Ferrovie dello Stato, the national rail company of Italy.

History
The railway station, designed by the Italian architect Di Giovanni, was opened on 7 June 1886. Still 1941 it was characterized by a big roof with a structure in iron and glass, substituted in the early 1950s with a reinforced concrete structure.

Structure and transport
Palermo Centrale lies in the middle of the city, at Julius Caesar square (Piazza Giulio Cesare), and its building has a multi-level structure. It is a terminal station with 10 platforms for passenger service.

The station is situated on the lines Messina-Palermo and Palermo-Trapani. It is also the terminal of Palermo-Catania and Palermo-Agrigento lines.

As transport the Centrale is an important hub of regional services for Sicily, also served by the citizen subway which links it to the Airport of Punta Raisi. For long-distance transport it is the terminus of InterCity trains to Naples, Rome, Milan and still 1970s to Paris. It is still not served by Le Frecce trains, principally for its position on an island, but it is included in the project of Berlin–Palermo railway axis.