Trieste
Location: in the northeast of Italy, on the Slovenian border.
Population: 205 000 (2009)
The core of the city is situated in a small lowland valley at the foot of the mountains that come down abruptly into the sea. The outer neighborhoods extend up the slopes.

Villa Opicina
Location: 3 km north of Trieste, 2 km from the Slovenian border.
Population: 7 570 (2010); up to 1/2 of Slovenian descent.
The town of Villa Opicina is situated on the Carso Plateau above the city of Trieste.

An urban electric tramway system in Trieste opened in 1900 (horse trams operated since 1876) and lasted until 1970. The system included a suburban line to Barcola.

A trolleybus system in Trieste operated from 30.03.1935 to 19.04.1975. The system included an interurban line to Muggia.

An interurban tramway line between Trieste and Villa Opicina opened in 1902, at the time when Trieste was under the control of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. This line is still operated today. It is a hybrid tramway and funicular line. The line starts at Piazza Oberdan at the northern edge of the city of Trieste, at 3m. above the sea level, and climbs to the town of Villa Opicina situated in the hills above at 329 m.

The line is primarily operated as a conventional tramway. However, within the steepest section of the line, between Piazza Scorcola and Vetta Scorcola, the trams are pushed uphill and braked downhill by a pair of buffer wagons (dummies) that are connected to one another via a cable. The buffer wagons operate on a funicular principle, with tramcars resting on them under a force of gravity. A funicular winding house is located at Vetta Scorcola, which is the upper station of the funicular.

1876: An urban horse tram opens in Trieste;
1900: An urban electric tram opens;
09.09.1902: An interurban tram line to Villa Opicina, Piazza Monte Re opens;
10.10.1902: Car 2 runs away on an incline section of the Villa Opicina line and crashes;
Late 1902: A rack traction is installed between Piazza Scorcola - Vetta Scorcola;
19.07.1906: A 1285 m. tramway extension from Piazza Monte Re to the Opicina railways station opens;
26.04.1928: A cable-hauled funicular installation is introduced between Piazza Scorcola - Vetta Scorcola;
30.03.1935: A trolleybus operation opens in Trieste;
04.1938: A section of the tramway line between Piazza Monte Re and the Opicina railway station closes;
29.10.1961: The interurban tram line to Villa Opicina is taken over by the Trieste municipality;
1970: The urban electric tram system closes; the interurban Opicina line is the only one that survives;
19.04.1975: The trolleybus system closes.

Guage: 1000 mm.
Line length: 5,2 km.

The section of the line within the city is only 400 m. long. The line follows city streets on a mixed right-of-way, however, trams run via a dedicated public transport-only lane. On Via Martiri della Liberta Trieste-bound trams run against motorized traffic head-on. Outside the city the line is entirely on a reserved right-of-way. A funicular section follows a ragged mountainous terrain. The upper section of the line at the plateau level is mostly a reserved siding along the secondary road between Trieste and Villa Opicina.

The funicular section of the line is 799 meters long and climbs a vertical distance of 160 meters. The maximum gradient is 26%. An overhead was removed from the incline section of the line upon the introduction in 2006 of new buffer wagons that no longer collect power from the overhead.

The line is mostly single track, with 6 passing points (formerly there were 8 passing points). In addition, the Piazza Oberdan Terminal has two tracks. One passing point is located at the half-way mark of the funicular section. Two cars must meet here to allow for a funicular arrangement to physically work. The section between the funicular passing point and the funicular upper station is an interlaced double-track right-of-way with no clearance for passing (passing would be impossible due to the physics of a funicular principle). The interlaced track separation is provided in order for two parts of a cable to run between tracks unabstracted of one another.

The 2010 Timetable

Three single cars operate on a 20 minute headway between 7:00 – 20:00. This schedule was introduced in 1966 and never changed since.

Only 2 out of 6 passing points are used under the above operational arrangement: the passing point between San Anastasio and Romagna within the funicular section, and the passing point at Conconello. The other passing points at Piazza Conconello, at Cologna Campo Sportivo, at Banne and at Campo Romano are only used whenever extra cars are running.

All stops are operated on request only. Requests for stops at San Anastasio and Romagna within the funicular section require an advance notice (supposedly prior to cars entering the funicular section), as such stops involve a centrally-controlled stoppage of cable-operated buffer wagons (dummies). Whenever one tramcar stops at one of the two stops within the funicular section, the other tramcar at the other end of the cable aligns with the other stop (and vice-versa).

[2010]

Stanga / TIBB: 4 cars 401, 402, 404, 405 (1935)
Stanga / TIBB: 2 cars 406, 407 (1942)
Ceretti & Tanfani / SIAG / Galassia: buffer cars 1, 2 (2006)
Graz / UEG: car 1 (1902)
Graz / UEG: car 6 (1903)
Chinetti (Varese) / BELL Maschinenfabrik AG: buffer car 1 (1974)

The first generation fleet consisted of 8 two-axel cars built by Graz with equipment by Union Elektricitats Gesellschaft (UEG, later known as AEG): cars 1, 5 and open-air cars 2-4 were delivered for the opening of the line in 1902; these followed by the delivery of cars 6 (1903), 7 (1908) and 8 (1913). Cars 1 and 6 survived, both were restored from workcars in 1992 and 2003 respectively. Car 1 is housed at the Depot in Villa Opicina and is used for special trips only. Car 6 is placed on a static display at the railway museum in Trieste Campo Marzio Station.

The second and current generation fleet consists of cars built by Officine Meccaniche Stanga (mechanical equipment) and Tecnomasio Italiano Brown Boveri (electrical equipment): cars 401-405 were delivered in 1935, while cars 406, 407 were delivered in 1942. Cars 406, 407 were built with simplified interiors due to war shortages; they could also be recognized by more angular square-shaped windows. Car 403 was lost in an accident on 28.11.1975. The remaining 6 cars were rebuilt and modernized. All cars now boast an air conditioning, as well as automatic controls and a CCTV monitoring of drive-less buffer cars and funicular operations. A chopper control was installed on cars 401, 402, 404-406, but not on car 407, which is to be persevered in the most authentic state possible. All passenger cars are double-ended with doors facing the west side only.

Upon an introduction of a rack traction in late 1902 trams were assisted up and down the racked section by rack electric locomotives. When the rack traction was replaced with a funicular installation in 1928, trams were assisted by two cable-hauled buffer cars (dummies) called carro scudo (literally: shield cars). The first generation buffer cars were built out of the former rack locos with the Swiss equipment by Theodor Bell. The two buffer cars of the second generation were delivered in 1974 and were built by Chinetti (Verese) with the equipment by BELL Maschinenfabrik AG. Car 1 survived, and is now placed on a static display at the railway museum in Trieste Campo Marzio Station. The first and the second generation buffer cars were manned by operators (in addition to conventional tram drivers). The two driver-less buffer cars of the third generation arrived in 2006, built by Ceretti & Tanfani / SIAG / Galassia, Milan. The cars resemble an open-air platform - the low profile of these cars is meant not to obstruct the tram driver’s line of vision. Unlike their predecessors, these cars no longer collect power from an overhead. Both cars are equipped with two exterior seats for service personnel.