Statistical and Technical Information

Some information describing the Parenzana railway line is given below:

Length: 123.1 km
Track gauge: 760 mm
Number of train stations and stops: 35
Lowest point: 2 m above sea level (in Trieste and Koper)
Highest point: 293 m above sea level (near Grožnjan)
Number of curves: 604
Number of tunnels: 9
Number of bridges: 11
Number of viaducts: 6
Average speed: 25 km/h
Highest speed: 31 km/h
Length of wagons: 8.5 m
Number of seats in a wagon: 30
Travelling time from Trieste to Poreč: 6-7 hours
Beginning of construction: 1900
Opening of the line: 1902
Last running of the train: 31 August 1935

Construction of the narrow-gauge railway line of 123 kilometres in length started in 1900. Works included the construction of eight tunnels with the total length of 1,530 metres, eleven bridges and six viaducts, numerous railway stations and stops, warehouses, water stations, embankments and cuts. The construction was carried out in two phases: the first section from Trieste to Buje (59 km) was finished by April 1902, while the section from Buje to Poreč (64 km) was opened in December of the same year. This complex project, which would be very demanding even today, was completed in a record period of two years.

The small train got its name of Parenzana by mere chance in February 1902 when a circular was published in the State Railways Bulletin, informing about the works on the first section of the route to Buje. Since the railway administration wished to underline that the railway line would eventually reach Poreč, the term “Parenzaner” was introduced in the circular and so it came to the Italian variation “Parenzana”, which has been preserved to date.

At the time when the section from Trieste to Buje was opened, the Paranzana railway had three freight wagons, ten passenger wagons, 14 closed and 28 open wagons, all owned by the company Societá locale Trieste-Parenzo, and two state-owned locomotives U1 and U2. The length of the railway section from the initial point in the centre of the waiting room at the Sant’Andrea Railway Station in Trieste to the centre of the reception building at the Buje Railway Station was 58.651 kilometres. The length of the railway section from the centre of the reception building at Buje to the centre of the station building at Poreč was 63.54 kilometres, while the total length of the railway line from Trieste to Poreč was 122.199 km.

The on-board train personnel consisted of three chief conductors and three railway guards, while the locomotive crew included four engine drivers and four stokers; there should have been also brakemen, but they were not noted on the record.

With the last purchases, the rolling stock of driving and hauling vehicles increased to four state-owned locomotives, four luggage and mail wagons, 13 passenger wagons, 30 open and 26 closed wagons and two tank wagons. Ten trolleys and two four-wheel velocipedes were used for the railway line maintenance.