{"id":68144,"date":"2015-02-05T22:06:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T21:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=68144"},"modified":"2026-10-13T08:17:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T07:17:53","slug":"circumetnea-the-train-around-mount-etna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/circumetnea-the-train-around-mount-etna","title":{"rendered":"Circumetnea, the train around Mount Etna"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

The Circumetnea<\/strong> is an opportunity for an original discovery of the Etna<\/strong><\/a> region by train, which runs along an old railway line over much of the circuit around the volcano, between the Catania Borgo<\/strong> station in Catania<\/a> and the one in Riposto<\/strong>. It allows you to discover beautiful landscapes with old lava flows, and passes through the interesting villages of Patern\u00f2<\/strong><\/a>, Adrano<\/strong><\/a>, Bronte<\/strong> and Randazzo<\/strong><\/a>.
The most beautiful part of the route – which is enough if you just want to do some sightseeing – is the section between Adrano and Randazzo, where you cross a wild landscape with large old lava flows.
The carriages, however, are mostly quite rustic, some of them without air conditioning. In addition, the journey is relatively long, with the train travelling at nearly 35 km\/h.<\/p>\n

Presentation of the Circumetnea railway<\/h2>\n
\"Catania<\/a>

Catania Borgo<\/p><\/div>\n

The main departure station of the Circumetnea, in Catania, is called Catania Borgo<\/strong>, on via Caronda, where an old Belgian steam locomotive from the Ateliers de constructions de la Meuse (built around 1910) is on display.
In operation since 1895, the Circumetnea is still nowadays an “ordinary train”, although it lives largely off tourism in summer. It was originally an essential means of opening up the rural villages on the slopes of the volcano, which had long remained isolated.
The railway track is a single, narrow-gauge line (950 mm), with a current length of about 111 kilometres. The journey, which is made in both directions, takes a total of 3h10, crossing 6 tunnels (the longest being 264 metres at Roccacalanna), 11 arch viaducts and 11 metal-girder bridges. The commercial speed is 35 km\/h and the maximum operating speed is 60 km\/h.<\/p>\n

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