L'Aquila railway station

Location

L'Aquila railway station is situated in Piazzale Stazione, to the west of the city centre.

History

The station was built by the Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali (English: Company for the Southern Railways, SFM).  It was opened on 10 May 1875, upon the inauguration of the Molina–L'Aquila section of the Terni–Sulmona railway, which was being constructed as a strategic rail link to Castellammare Adriatico (now Pescara), an important node in the Adriatic Railway.
Until 28 October 1883, the date of entry into service of the line's extension to Rieti and Terni, the station carried out the functions of a terminal station.  It then became an intermediate station.  Between 1922 and 1933, it was flanked by SIA railway station, terminus of the short lived Capitignano line.
World War II led to the devastation of the station premises.  On 8 December 1943, Allied planes bombed the station, claiming hundreds of civilian and military casualties.  In 1951, the passenger building was rebuilt in 1951 as a project of the architect Roberto Narducci.
The station has seen its importance decrease following the increase in road traffic, especially after the entry into operation of the Rome–Aquila motorway, and culminating with the closure in 1987 of the direct line Freccia del Gran Sasso, the direct connection with Rome. The station was damaged by the earthquake that hit L'Aquila in 2009, but came back into operation a few days after the earthquake.