The privately held Apulian rail company playing a leading role in Foggia province transport services. Ferrovie del Gargano (Gargano railways), with railways in the plural: in fact, the private company which since 1962 has held the concession to operate the 78 kilometres of railway line from San Severo to Peschici, has also been running the Lucera – Foggia line (19 km) since 14 July 2009 (also on a concession). This line was rebuilt after the Apulia Region farsightedly bought the railbed from the RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italian- Italian Rail Network after it abandoned the railway.
A company therefore, which has not limited itself to running the historical line which leads almost to the tip of the Gargano Peninsula through an area of unrivalled beauty, but has also backed rail transport as a method of future transport for the Foggia Province and continues with a process of modernization, not only of the infrastructures, but also of services which, as we shall see, are full of innovative aspects.
The company, whose chairman is Vincenzo Scarcia, answers to a holding controlled by the family of the same name, an important local entrepreneurial group (which doesn’t operate solely in the transport sector), and manages not only the rail service but also a significant network of bus connections on a regional and national level.
We met Daniele Giannetta, operating manager of the Ferrovie del Gargano to get a better idea of the company’s future plans. Daniele Giannetta is an engineer, son and grandson of railwaymen who worked on the “Garganica” (as the line is affectionately known) who loves his job and passionately believes in the possibilities for the train to once again play a major part in the public transport system in Foggia and the region as a whole.
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