Marconi Express | |||
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Overview | |||
Locale | Bologna, Italy | ||
Transit type | People mover | ||
Number of lines | 1 | ||
Number of stations | 3 | ||
Chief executive | Rita Finzi | ||
Website | http://www.marconiexpress.it/ | ||
Operation | |||
Began operation | 18 November 2020 | ||
Operator(s) | Marconi Express | ||
Number of vehicles | 3 | ||
Train length | 17 m | ||
Technical | |||
System length | 5.095 kilometres (3.2 mi) | ||
No. of tracks | 1 | ||
Average speed | 40 km/h (25 mph) | ||
Top speed | 70 km/h (43 mph) | ||
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The Marconi Express is a monorail line in Bologna, Italy. At 5.095 kilometres (3.2 mi) in length, it links Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport to Bologna Centrale railway station, with an intermediate station and depot at Lazzaretto and a travel time of 7 minutes and 20 seconds.[1]
The monorail trains have been provided by Intamin Transportation.[2] The three trainsets are each capable of carrying up to 48 passengers.[3] The coordinated design of the infrastructure was carried out by the engineering companies MATE Engineering and STS of Bologna, while the architectural design is by Massimo Iosa Ghini.
Building works were completed in 2018 and the line was scheduled to start operating on 7 March 2020.[4] However, the date of inauguration was subsequently postponed. The line has been open to public service since 18 November 2020.[5][6]
However, soon after its inauguration, the service started suffering significant disruptions, culminating in its suspension between November 2021 and February 2022, with surreptitious substitution via normal buses, despite oblivious customers paying the full fare for a service they never received.[7][8]
The three trainsets currently operating on Marconi Express can transport a maximum of 576 passengers per hour per direction. The design of the infrastructure allows for up to four trainsets to operate on the line at the same time.[9]