Trenino Verde

{{Infobox rail service | box_width = | name = ''Trenino Verde'' | logo = | logo_width = | image = | image_width = | caption = A ''Trenino Verde'' steam locomotive in Sassari

| type = Tourist train | status = Operational | locale = Sardinia, Italy | predecessor = | first = | last = | successor = | operator = ARST | formeroperator = | ridership = | ridership2 = | website = [http://www.treninoverde.com Trenino Verde] | start = | stops = | end = | distance = | journeytime = | frequency = | trainnumber = | line_used = {{ubl|{{nowrap|{{Interlanguage link multi|Isili–Sorgono railway{{!}}Isili–Sorgono|it|3=Ferrovia Isili-Sorgono}}}}|{{nowrap|{{Interlanguage link multi|Mandas–Arbatax railway{{!}}Mandas–Arbatax|it|3=Ferrovia Mandas-Arbatax}}}}|{{nowrap|{{Interlanguage link multi|Macomer–Bosa Marina railway{{!}}Macomer–Bosa Marina|it|3=Ferrovia Macomer-Bosa}}}}|{{nowrap|{{Interlanguage link multi|Nulvi–Tempio–Palau railway{{!}}Nulvi–Tempio–Palau|it|3=Ferrovia Nulvi-Tempio-Palau}}}}}} | class = | access = | seating = | catering = | baggage = | otherfacilities = | stock = | gauge = | speed = | owners = | routenumber = | map = thumb|center|Map of the Sardinian rail network showing the ''Trenino Verde'' lines in light green. | map_state = show }}

{{lang|it|'''Il Trenino Verde della Sardegna'''}} ("''the Little Green Train of Sardinia''" in English) is a rail tourism service operated by ARST in the island of Sardinia, Italy.

==History== Characterized by lengthy travel times and winding tracks in attractive landscapes, the narrow gauge railways of Sardinia have always attracted the attention of travellers. As early as 1921, the British writer D. H. Lawrence, in his book, ''Sea and Sardinia'', recounted his experiences while traveling along the Cagliari–Isili line:

{{Quote|We'll take the secondary train, … wherever it goes.|D. H. Lawrence|Sea and Sardinia, 1921.}}

After World War II, railway tourism slowly took shape on the island. By the 1980s, the then concessionaires of the secondary lines, the {{Interlanguage link multi|Ferrovie Complementari della Sardegna|it}} (FCS) and the {{Interlanguage link multi|Strade Ferrate Sarde|it}} (SFS), were forced to organise a service for tourists in a more systematic fashion. The name chosen for it, ''Trenino Verde'', was used for the first time in 1984,<ref>{{cite book|title=Catalogo dei Viaggi con il Trenino Verde|trans-title=Travel Catalogue of the Trenino Verde|editor=FdS - Ferrovie della Sardegna|edition=6th|url=http://web.tiscali.it/iltreninoverdedellas/foto%20sito%20treninoverde/Catalogo%20del%20trenino%20verde%202003.pdf|year=2003|page=2|language=it}}</ref> and alludes to the many features rich in vegetation encountered by the trains. left|thumb|Isili-Sorgono Line between Aritzo and Belvì

Given the growing demand for rail tourism, the Ferrovie della Sardegna (FdS) (created in 1989 from the merger of the FCS and the SFS), with the support of {{Interlanguage link multi|Ente Sardo Industrie Turistiche|it}} (ESIT), the World Wide Fund for Nature, and Italia Nostra, later obtained funding from the Region and the European Union to achieve a leap in the quality of the service. The funding was spent on the restoration of steam locomotives, vintage carriages, stations and sections of line.

On 10 May 1995, 14 years after its closure, the restored {{Interlanguage link multi|Macomer–Bosa railway{{!}}Tresnuraghes–Bosa Marina line|it|3=Ferrovia Macomer-Bosa}} was reopened to rail traffic, in the form of ''Trenino Verde'' services, thus becoming the first tourist-train-only line in Sardinia. Two years later, on 16 June 1997, four of the FdS lines, the {{Interlanguage link multi|Mandas–Arbatax railway{{!}}Mandas–Arbatax line|it|3=Ferrovia Mandas-Arbatax}}, the {{Interlanguage link multi|Isili–Sorgono railway{{!}}Isili–Sorgono line|it|3=Ferrovia Isili-Sorgono}}, the {{Interlanguage link multi|Macomer–Bosa railway{{!}}Macomer–Tresnuraghes line|it|3=Ferrovia Macomer-Bosa}} and the {{Interlanguage link multi|Nulvi–Tempio–Palau railway{{!}}Nulvi–Tempio–Palau line|it|3=Ferrovia Nulvi-Tempio-Palau}}, were closed to ordinary traffic and converted to tourist train lines. Additionally, two themed museums were opened as part of the ''Trenino Verde'' project, on premises adjacent to the {{Interlanguage link multi|Monserrato railway station|it|3=Stazione di Monserrato}} and Tempio Pausania railway stations.

In 2010, with the integration of ARST Gestione FdS (the name assumed by the FdS in 2008) into the ARST, the latter company inherited responsibility for the management of Sardinia's narrow gauge railways, including those of the ''Trenino Verde''.

==Lines== The ''Trenino Verde'' currently operates over the following {{convert|404|km|abbr=on}} long network of lines used exclusively for tourism purposes:

===Cagliari division=== *{{Interlanguage link multi|Isili–Sorgono railway{{!}}Isili–Sorgono|it|3=Ferrovia Isili-Sorgono}} ({{convert|83|km|abbr=on}}) *{{Interlanguage link multi|Mandas–Arbatax railway{{!}}Mandas–Arbatax|it|3=Ferrovia Mandas-Arbatax}} ({{convert|159|km|abbr=on}})

===Sassari-Macomer division=== *{{Interlanguage link multi|Macomer–Bosa Marina railway{{!}}Macomer–Bosa Marina|it|3=Ferrovia Macomer-Bosa}} ({{convert|46|km|abbr=on}}) *{{Interlanguage link multi|Nulvi–Tempio–Palau railway{{!}}Nulvi–Tempio–Palau|it|3=Ferrovia Nulvi-Tempio-Palau}} ({{convert|116|km|abbr=on}})

These lines are used all year round for chartered trains, operating customised itineraries. In summer, there is also a regularly scheduled service.

==References== ===Notes=== {{reflist}} ===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last1=Boccone|first1=Alessandro|last2=Pani|first2=Gianflorest|title=Il trenino verde della Sardegna: Arbatax, Mandas, Sorgono|trans-title=The Little Green Train of Sardinia: Arbatax, Mandas, Sorgono|date=2001|publisher=Zonza|location=Sestu (Cagliari)|isbn=8884700701|language=it}} *{{cite book|last1=Davies|first1=W.J.K.|title=A Contrast in Islands: The Narrow Gauge Railways of Corsica and Sardinia|series=Narrow Gauge Railways of Europe Volume 7|date=2002|publisher=Plateway Press|location=East Harling, Norfolk, UK|isbn=187198050X}} {{refend}}

==External links== *[http://www.treninoverde.com Trenino Verde] – official site {{in lang|it}} *[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/5947660/Sardinia-Entranced-by-the-10.23-to-Tempio.html ''The Daily Telegraph:'' Sardinia: Entranced by the 10.23 to Tempio] – description by Marc Zakian of a trip from Nulvi to Palau *[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/aug/04/saturday.sardinia ''The Guardian:'' Rattle and roll into old Sardinia] – description by Gavin Bell of a trip from Arbatax to Mandas *[http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/travel/a/21376794/intimate-trip-like-no-other/ ''The West Australian:'' Intimate trip like no other] – description by Jim Gill of a trip from to Mandas to Arbatax and return

Category:Passenger rail transport in Italy Category:Transport in Sardinia