ROCCHETTE-ASIAGO RAILWAY: THE TRAIN OF MEMORY THAT COULD RETURN TO RUN

Could the dream of seeing the "Vaca Mora" return to puff on the plateau come true?

The old Piovene Rocchette-Asiago railway, which once connected the Plateau of the 7 Municipalities to the plain, in recent years has been the subject of growing interest, fueled by sporting events, exhibitions and conferences that have celebrated its history.

Recently, the municipalities of Piovene Rocchette and Carré also wanted to honor the memory of the defunct railways of Alto Vicentino, still recognizing its importance in people's hearts and minds. The first commissioned a mural depicting the salient aspects of the town's history, also representing the old railway station with a steam locomotive and the old railway bridge that crossed the river Astico. The second built a roundabout in which the symbol of a railway track was installed to remember the passage of the train at that point.

From July 2014 to January 2015, moreover, in Cesuna di Roana was held the exhibition entitled "48 years of Sbuffi a Vapore in Altopiano". The exhibition, which presented photographs, videos, maps, drawings, projects and models documenting the history of the railway, was a great success. Between November 2014 and January 2015 also the Municipality of Cogollo del Cengio organized an exhibition dedicated to the old railway line, entitled " Cogollo del Cengio and its train 1910-1958. Rocchette-Asiago Railway".

The growing interest around the old Piovene Rocchette-Asiago railway has helped to nourish the dream of many people, both highlands and not, to see it back in operation, aware of its potential to improve the mobility of the plateau. The restoration of the railway line would in fact represent a sustainable alternative to the use of the car and could encourage more environmentally friendly tourism.

And in the wake of this desire, a group of associations and citizens of the Asiago plateau has undertaken the first contacts with the FS Foundation, a section of the State Railways, which also deals with the recovery of old disused railway lines, through the project "Timeless Tracks".

The Foundation may be available to carry out a preliminary investigation and conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the possibility of restoring the Rocchette-Asiago railway; To this end, however, it is necessary to demonstrate the Community's genuine interest in the project.

Mr. Federico Pessina, promoter of the initiative and mountain enthusiast, originally from Asiago, is therefore trying to involve the community, collecting expressions of support from private individuals and associations of the territory. If you also share the dream of seeing the " Vaca Mora" return to puff on the plateau, you can make your contribution by sending an expression of interest. The latter will be included in the official letter that will be sent to the FS Foundation to demonstrate the community's support for the initiative (at the bottom of the article you will find instructions on how to send your support).

The proponents of the initiative for the restoration of the Rocchette-Asiago underline the importance of acting promptly, given that a study is underway for the restoration of the railway connection with Calalzo di Cadore and Cortina in view of the next Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in 2026. This project plans to use the old track of the "Train of the Dolomites", which played a fundamental role in the 1956 Winter Olympics. In light of this, the feasibility of restoring the Rocchette-Asiago railway line, whose route could even be improved compared to the original, could also be assessed. For example, the connection with the ski areas of Verena and Melette could be envisaged, with the extension of the railway line up to Gallium.

Who knows if one day the old Rocchette-Asiago railway will return to ply the mountains of the plateau. The initiative of the proponents of its restoration is still in an embryonic phase, but the dream of seeing it back in operation continues to live in the minds and hearts of many.

A BIT OF HISTORY OF THE PIOVENE ROCCHETTE RAILWAY – ASIAGO

The narrow-gauge Rocchette Asiago railway, inaugurated in its entirety on February 10, 1910, connected the Plateau of the 7 Municipalities with the plain through a daring route, 21,190 km long, which had nothing to envy to that of the Swiss Alpine trains. Just think that 5.764 km had one of the most challenging gradients in Italy (on average 116 per thousand, with peaks of 125 per thousand) and were tackled by Strub type rack, while the rest of the route was naturally adherent.

The railway line had seven stations: Piovene Rocchette, Cogollo, Campiello, Treschè Conca, Cesuna, Canove and Asiago. The steam train that ran through it, puffing, in popular jargon was called "Vaca mora".

As in the intentions of its promoters, the wool industrialist and politician Alessandro Rossi and his son Gaetano, the Rocchette – Asiago railway contributed greatly to the economic and social development of the plateau. However, the train took about 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to its destination (two and a half hours starting from Vicenza) and was soon beaten in speed and convenience by the overwhelming automotive development, so that in 1957 it was decided to close the railway section, replacing the train with the coaches.

A popular demonstration held in Vicenza led to the temporary reopening of the railway, which was then closed definitively on July 31, 1958.

In 1960, a provincial study commission proposed its revival through a substantial investment, but in the end the project was rejected, because the railway line would continue to involve significant operating losses borne by general taxation. So it was that in 1977 Parliament decided to abolish it definitively.

Today, the railway has become a cycle-pedestrian path for nature walks, the much-loved "Strada del trenino", about 12 km long, which goes from Campiello to Asiago and winds through woods and pastures. Along the route you will encounter old stations, railway toll booths and two tunnels 384 and 186 meters long respectively.

Many railway service buildings are well preserved: the Asiago station houses the Mountain Community, that of Treschè Conca the tourist office, the station of Canove di Roana has been transformed into the Museum of the Great War, while the Campiello stop has been privatized. Recently the former station of Cogollo del Cengio has also been restored. On the contrary, the former stations of Cesuna and Piovene Rocchette were demolished.

HOW TO SEND YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST TO THE RESTORATION OF THE PIOVENE ROCCHETTE – ASIAGO RAILWAY

If you think that the restoration of the railway line is a good idea, you can send a text document with which you express your support for the initiative as private individuals or as associations (in this case also affix your logo to the document), to the email address: [email protected]