Regional Bus And Rail Company Of Canton Ticino
The FART (Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi – Regional Bus and Rail Company of Canton Ticino) provides the urban and suburban bus network of Locarno, Switzerland, operates the cable cars between Verdasio and Rasa, and between Intragna – Pila – Costa on behalf of the owning companies, and, together with the Italian company Società Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie S.p.A. (SSIF) the Centovalli and Vigezzina Railway which connects the Gotthard trans-Alpine rail route at Locarno railway station with the Simplon trans-Alpine route at Domodossola, Italy. There are 10 stations on the Swiss side of the frontier and 12 stations on the Italian side, the complete rail journey taking approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.
A formal request for the licensing of a rail network was made by the mayor of Locarno, Francesco Balli, in 1898, but although construction of the Centovalli Railway was begun in May 1913, the collapse of the financing bank later that year, together with the intervention of the First World War meant that construction was not resumed until August 1921, with the line being constructed from each end and meeting on 27 March 1923 and public service being inaugurated on 25 November 1923. On 12 November 1918 Italy and Switzerland had signed a contract about the construction of a narrow gauge railway Locarno - Domodossola. This contract fixed the cross acceptance of Italian vehicles in Switzerland and vice versa without needing a second approval.
As well as an important public service, the route of the railway is extremely scenic and the route is popular with tourists.
FART is a member of the Arcobaleno tariff network.
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