Page:NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 17; ITALY; TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080003-4.pdf/12

 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080003-4

From 20% to 35% of the equipment undergoes repair at any given time.

The standard European hook-and-link and screw type coupling with side buffers is used on FS equipment. Passenger and freight cars have Breda or Westinghouse airbrakes, and new and reconditioned equipment is designed to accommodate automatic couplers when conversion begins in 1981, the new date set by the UIC. The maximum authorized gross trailing load is 1,540 short tons, and the average net train load increased from 660 short tons in 1966 to 968 short tons in 1971.

About 50 Italian manufacturers, the largest of which are Asgen, Breda, Fiat, OMC, and Savigliano, produce motive power, rolling stock, and maintenance machinery. They are important in the national economy because of the large volume of their exports.

In addition to the well equipped and dispersed motive power and rolling stock maintenance and repair workshops, the FS contracts about 20% of its rolling stock repair to private companies.

The absolute system of train control is the rule in Italy. Remote control works with pushbutton geographical circuitry panels installed in traffic control towers are in major stations and yards. They control the block signals and switches in smaller stations are operated mechanically and manually. On main FS lines the automatic electric block system increased in 1971 to 2,110 route miles and semiautomatic electric block decreased to 3,380 route miles. Secondary lines operate on the manual block and telephone order system. On lines with automatic electric block and lines under reconstruction for high speed operation, the FS installs coded track circuits which repeats the line signals in an apparatus located in the locomotive cab. Color-light line signals have replaced semaphores on main lines and are 2-, 3-, and 4-aspect light units. Combinations of color lights or flashing yellow or green lights indicate restrictions in train speed. Of the 13,500 FS grade crossings, over 1,000, most of which are on secondary lines, are unattended except for fixed warning signals. During the 1962-72 period of the FS improvement plan 2,500 grade crossings were eliminated; 6,000 more are to be improved with automatic barriers and warning light signals.

Electric power is the main source of energy for motive power, and more than 90% of all FS traffic is moved over electrified lines. Hydroelectric power, generated in the mountainous northern part of the country accounts for 65% of the total power generated in Italy. The National Electric Power Agency (ENEL) supplies 130 to 150 kilovolts of current from its national transmission net to FS substations located along electrified lines. This current is converted to 3,000-volt direct current for electric motive power use. In 1971 the FS consumed 3.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, an increase of 345 million kilowatt-hours over 1966. Diesel and fuel oil are obtained from domestic refineries, which import 75% of their crude oil from the Middle East and the remainder from the U.S.S.R. and Africa. Fuel consumption in 1971 was 131,193 short tons of diesel oil, an increase of 34,000 short tons over 1966; 956 short tons of fuel oil, a decrease of 146 short tons over 1966; and 239,350 short tons of coal, a decrease of 184,019 short tons over 1966. Coal is imported from the United States, West Germany, and the U.S.S.R. Water supply for steam locomotives is adequate and is chemically treated.

In 1970 non-Federal railroads consumed 111.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 13,901 short tons of diesel oil, and 5,089 short tons of coal.

On main lines the FS standard FS 60 (121 pounds per yard) and FS 50 (101 pounds per yard) flat-bottom T-section rail in lengths from 118’1½” to 157’6” are in use. Rail is electric-arc welded in workshops into 472-foot lengths, and on site these lengths are Thermit welded into continuous rail. The FS has more than 6,000 track miles of continuous welded rail, and about 350 track miles are added annually. The Piambino rolling mill, a member of the IRI-Finsider group of nationalized steel plants, produces rail 13 miles south of Livorno. Creosote-treated wooden ties predominate and are spaced at an average of 2,680 per mile. Reinforced-concrete ties for type FS 60 rail are spaced 2,700 per mile. Type “K” fastenings and “Pandrol” clips are being used with prestressed concrete ties, and steel tie plates and rail spikes are used with wooden ties. Ballast is crushed stone 1½” to 2½” in diameter. Except for imported wooden ties, all track materials are available locally. The permissible axleload is 22 short tons on main lines and 19.8 short tons on secondary lines.

The average speed is 57 miles per hour for passenger trains and 28 miles per hour for freight trains. Maximum speeds of 100 to 112 miles per hour are authorized on selected sections of about 2,000 route miles of the following double track lines: Torino-Milan, Verona-Padova-Venice, Milan-Piacenza-Bologna, and Torino-Alessandria-Genoa-Pisa-Rome-Naples. A maximum speed of 155 miles per hour is to be possible on the new Florence to Rome line now under construction and scheduled for completion

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080003-4