Metro of Brescia

The Brescia Metro (Metropolitana di Brescia)

Brescia is an Italian city located to the north of the country, with an estimated population of almost 200 thousand inhabitants. Specifically, it has 196,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the province of Brescia, and it is the second most populated city of the Lombardy region, being just behind Milan.

Its history dates back from 3,200 years, making it an important cultural, historical, and architectonic center of all Italy. It has a lot of monuments that had been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Just like the rest of the big cities in Lombardy, Brescia has an economy dependent of small and middle-sized firms, which manufacture products and services. The economy is based on agriculture, handicrafts, tourism, industry, and commerce.

It is a quite a large city, which results in high levels of traffic on its roads, which is generated by both drivers from Brescia and drivers from the surrounding municipalities.

Consequently, there has been a constant need of a mass transportation system since the 80´s, when the first drafts for a proper transportation system which would move around under ground-level were proposed.

However, it wasn´t until the year 2000 that the local government finally started looking for firms to execute the project. This project would be later be known as the Metropolitana di Brescia (Brescia Metro in English).

The work was inaugurated during the first semester of the year 2013, which included 17 stations that are currently distributed throughout 13.7 kilometers.

It currently has only one commercial line. As a fun fact, this line is fully automatic, and was inspired by the Copenhagen Metro.

Brescia Metro

Lines and stations

The Brescia Metro has a single line that is 13.7 kilometers long. It is completely automatic. Additionally, it is unique thanks to its modern and minimalistic architecture - which goes to show the well-known “good Italian taste”-.

The stations, which are 17 in total, have a unique design, as it was asked by the city´s authorities from the moment that the project was assigned to the firms that won the rights to build it.

The journey starts at the north, and it continues at the downtown area and the southeast of the city. Most of this journey is done underground, but some stops are at surface-level, while others are elevated stops. The system´s stations will be shown below:

Stations

• Prealpino: It is located on Via dell'Arsenale Avenue, to the north of the city. It was inaugurated on February 2nd, 2013. It was mainly built to absorb the high number of commuters that comes from the localities of Val Trompia and Nave, from where a high number of people that work in Brescia come from.
• Casazza: Lies at an intersection between the avenues Via Triumplina and Via Conicchio, near Centro Futura, a residential neighborhood within the city. Its location was chosen to offer transportation to the residents of that neighborhood, who needed a relatively big means of public transportation.
• Mompiano: The station is located to the southeast of the avenues Via Boccaccia and Viale Europa. Its inauguration took place on November, 2013, and was built to receive the future influx of people from the new neighborhoods that are being built on the nearby areas.
• Europa: It is located on Via Branze Avenue, near the faculties of medicine and engineering from Brescia´s University. Its main goal is to offer transportation to the campus that are so close to the station.
• Ospedale: It is located on Piazzale Spedali Civili Plaza, which is very close to Brescia´s Spedali Civili hospital, the most important healthcare building of the city. Most of the traffic goes towards this hospital.
• Marconi: This station was built on the vicinity of Via Guglielmo Marconi´s Avenue, where it offers transportation to satisfy the demand of the densely populated neighborhoods of Crocifissa di Rosa, Guglielmo Marconi and Monte Suello.
• San Faustino: It gets its name from the place where it lies, Via San Faustino Avenue. It is quite close of the headquarters of Brescia´s University, in a crowded area.
• Vittoria: It was opened on March, 2013, to the north of Piazza della Vittoria. Plaza. It is strategically located on the center of the city´s old town, next to the main plazas of the place.
• Stazione FS: Localized on Viale Della Stazione Avenue, is a crowded meeting point of different means of transportation in the city. It is just next to Brescia´s train station, and next to the main interurban bus stop.
• Bresciadue: This stop is found on Via Cefalonia Avenue, where many of the most important service companies of the city have their headquarters, such as Telecom Italia and UBI Banca. The station´s aesthetics were carefully designed with the goal of sharing the same design as the surrounding business and executive buildings of the area.
• Lamarmora: This stop is located on Via Alessandro Lamarmora Avenue. It was built with two goals in mind: to offer service to the residents of the nearby areas, and to serve as a transfer point for a future expansion of the metro network.
• Volta: This station is located on Via della Volta Avenue, on the Cremona area, where it also gives service to the Leonessa district. It is one of the stops with the highest ridership, having the record of transporting up to 2,000 passengers.
• Poliambulanza: It is located on Via Romiglia Avenue, next to the Poliambulanza Hospital, which explains its name. Almost all of its traffic goes towards the hospital, which is the second most important hospital of the city.
• San Polo Parco: It is located between the San Polo district and the agricultural are to the north of the city, at the Via Romiglia route. It was built to attend the neighborhoods of Tiziano, Raffaello Sanzio and Michelangelo, which are next to the station.
• San Polo Cimabue: The stop is located on Via Cimabue Avenue, which is also really close to the streets of Via Andrea del Verrocchio and Via Antonio Allegri, on the San Polo district, one of the most populated areas of Brescia.
• Sanpolino: Located on the modern neighborhood of Sanpolino, this station has one of the most striking architectonic design of the network, since it was built to have a similar design to the buildings around it, where there are mainly avant-garde crystal buildings.
• Sant’Eufemia Buffalora: It is located at the south of the city, on Via Agostino Chiappa Avenue. It serves the neighborhoods of Sant'Eufemia della Fonte, Buffalora, Rezzato and Alto Padana. The high population around the area was the reason why the system´s authorities decided to build a parking lot on the station´s vicinity.

Metropolitana de Brescia, Italy

Connections

The Brescia Metro has many connections, including connections with bus lines, which have the purpose of making it easier for passengers to travel around the city. Although it has just recently started to give service, the subway has become the most important means of public transportation in Brescia. Therefore, the authorities of the metro added the biggest possible number of connections for the system.

• Prealpino: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 10 and 11.
• Casazza: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 7 and 10.
• Mompiano: Near the station, you can board the buses from line 15.
• Europa: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 10, 15 and 16.
• Ospedale: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines10, 15, 16 and 17.
• Marconi: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 7 and 10.
• San Faustino: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 2, 11, 17 and 18.
• Vittoria: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 9, 12 and 15.
• Stazione FS: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 7, 12, 13 and 14. You can also transfer to the Brescia Train Station –from where all the trains from Italy depart– and have access to the Brescia Bus station –a stop for interurban and long distance bus lines–.
• Bresciadue: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 4 and 10.
• Lamarmora: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 2 and 13.
• Volta: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 12, 13 and 14.
• Poliambulanza: Near the station, you can board the buses from line 13.
• San Polo Parco: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 9.
• San Polo Cimabue: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 12.
• Sanpolino: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 8, 9 and 16.
• San Eufemia-Buffalora: Near the station, you can board the buses from lines 3.

Schedule

The Brescia Metro has a fixed schedule from Sunday to Friday. It opens at 5:00 a.m., and ceases operations at midnight. The train frequency oscillates between 8 and 10 minutes per train during the regular course of the day. However, the frequency decreases to four minutes per train during peak hours, which are usually between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

On Saturdays, the trains operate for an additional hour, that is, they operate until 1:00 a.m.

Generally, the trains take 30 minutes to complete a journey throughout the entire network of the Brescia Metro, which has al length of 13.7 kilometers. The journey between one station and the other lasts between one and two minutes approximately. However, it is possible that the trains start to go faster during an emergency situation, so the journey between the stops may last even less.

Note: The previously described business hours may vary. In other words, they may change depending on the decisions of the operators of the system.

Fares

The public transportation fares in Brescia vary according to the zone that the user wished to go to. There are two: Zone 1 and Zone 2. In the case of the subway, the entire network is located within Zone 1. Therefore, the price to use the trains does not vary. However, if you make a transfer to a bus line, you will have to know beforehand if the bus goes to Zone 2. In that case, you will have to pay more for your journey.

Biglietti (Tickets)

• Ordinario: It allows you to travel for 90 minutes on the trains of the Brescia Metro, as well as on the bus lines that operate within the municipality. It has a cost of 1.40€.
• Giornaliero 24h: With this ticket, it is possible to travel on the subway and on the bus lines that transit the municipality of Brescia for 24 hours. Its cost is of 3.00€.
• Settimanale: This weekly pass offers you the possibility to travel for 7 days on the underground system of the city, as well as on the bus lines that transit within the municipality of Brescia. Its price is of 12.00€.

Abbonamenti (Subscription)

The subscription plans are accessible through a reloadable card, which can be obtained in one of the ticket booths located on the stations. Also, the subscription should be bought before the 15th day of the current month so that it starts working immediately. If you buy a subscription after the 16th day, the plan will be valid on the first day of the following month.

• Mensile: With this plan, you will be able to travel unlimitedly on the trains of the Brescia Metro and the bus lines of the municipality for a whole month. The plan should be paid each month, and has a price of 35.00€.
• Bimestrale: This plan allows you to use the trains and bus lines of the municipality of Brescia for two months. You should keep in mind the expiration date of the plan so that you can renew it in time. Its price is of 70.00 €.
• Trimestrale: This plan gives you three months of unlimited journeys on the subway´s trains of the city, as well as on the bus lines within the Brescia municipality. Its cost 97.00 €.
• Semestrale: This plan offers you six months of unlimited journeys on the Brescia Metro and on the bus lines of the municipality. Its cost is of 180.00 € each six months.
• Annuale: This plan is quite attractive for those that frequently use the metro system and the bus lines of Brescia, since it offers you 12 months of unlimited rides for a single annual payment. Its price is of 285.00 €.

Note: The prices explained above only make reference to Zone 1 of the Brescia fare system.

Brescia railway station

Rules

Behavior

• The user cannot have access to the staff-only areas under any circumstance.
• It is strictly prohibited to damage, deteriorate or litter the wagons, as well as the metro stations.
• You cannot consume food nor drinks while travelling on the subway system.
• You cannot carry firearms, explosives, flammable materials, nor any other object that may be potentially dangerous for the rest of the passengers.
• You cannot have access to the metro stations under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• It is prohibited to travel on the Brescia Metro without a shirt, nor by dressing using clothes displaying offensive content.
• Do not smoke cigarettes nor e-cigarettes on the trains nor the system´s stations.
• You cannot sing, yell, make noise, nor disturb in any way the other passengers.
• Do not hand out flyers, beg, nor start a fundraiser on the Brescia Metro´s facilities without having previous authorization to do so.
• Do not make polls nor interviews on the trains nor the stations of the system without being authorized by the people in charge of the metro.
• Showing products and making expositions on the vicinity of the trains and stations are prohibited.

Entering and exiting

• Before entering the system´s rains, wait for the passengers to get off the train.
• Any attempt to illegally block the doors is not allowed.
• People on wheelchairs should enter the trains from either the first door of the first wagon or from the last door of the last wagon.

Elevator use

• You cannot smoke nor spit inside the station´s elevators.
• Avoid manipulating the staff-only equipment within the elevators.
• Children under 12 cannot enter alone into the station´s elevators.

Use of the escalators

• You cannot use the escalators without shoes.
• You cannot leave items on the escalators.
• It is prohibited to sit on the stairs of the escalators.
• Only make use of the emergency equipment when a real threat is present. Otherwise, you will be fined.

Stazione di Brescia

Connection to the airport

Brescia´s own airport only has a limited number of charter flights during the week, which is why the travelers tend to use the Verona airport, which is located kilometers away from the city. It is called the Verona-Villafranca Airport, and receives flights from all around Europe and other regions of the world.

To reach it, you´ll just need to go to the Stazione FS metro station, which is just next to Brescia´s Railway Terminal. At this building, you can board any of the trains of the firm Trenitalia, specifically, the trains that have Venice and St. Lucia as their destination. These trains, after a few stations, stop at the Verona Porta Nuova terminal, where you will have to disembark. The journey lasts just 35 minutes.

Once you reach the Verona railway station, you will have to board a bus from line 199, which goes directly to the airport. You will find them outside of the station. These vehicles do not have stops halfway through their journey, so the journey ends up lasting 15 minutes.

Likewise, if you wish to reach Brescia from the Verona Airport, the journey is a similar one. However, right outside the Verona-Villafranca Airport, you will also find rent-a-car services, taxi lines, and bus lines that offer many destinations. Likewise, at the Verona railway station, you can buy tickets for trains that travel that travel all around Italy.

Brescia Metro

Touristic attractions

Right at the heart of Brescia, near Vittoria station, you will find the emblematic cathedral of the city, the Duomo Vecchio di Brescia, also known as “The Roundabout” due to its circular shape. It was built during the 11th century on top of a basilica that was previously on that site. Since then, it has experienced many expansions throughout the centuries, but it has kept its Roman architecture intact –which makes it one of the most important original Roman buildings of Italy-.

Additionally, the cathedral keeps inside important exhibits, which include the tomb of Bonino da Campione, the remains of Giangiacomo Antegnati, the granite grave of Berardo Maggi, and a collection of paintings from the artists Moretto and Romanino. The crypt that is within it, which dates back from the 6th century, results quite attractive for tourists.

Meanwhile, near the San Faustino station, tourists will be able to find the beautiful Brescia Castle. It was previously called the Falconed’ Italia, because of it is located on a steep hill from which the entire city can be observed. This is one of the biggest forts of the country, with an area of 75,000 square meters that are completely protected by walls.

Just by entering the gates of this old building, you will transport into another era. You will go to a time dominated by fights between kingdoms, where military power of a city-state was vital for its preservation. Since its construction, this castle has witnessed the evolution of the Italian society of the last four centuries, and it has remained almost intact, even after all of the calamities that the country suffered.