Turin's first metro line is based on the VAL system in Lille and Toulouse. It starts in the centre of Turin at the main railway station Porta Nuova, crosses the city centre via Porta Susa railway station and then runs west to Collegno along Corso Francia. After completion in October 2007, the first section of the metro line is 9.6 km long and has 14 stations (Porta Susa opening at a later date).

- July 1999: Invitation to tender
- End of 1999: Contract awarded to SYSTRA S.A. / GEODATA
- Construction started officially on 19 Dec 2000
- Opening: Feb. 2006, just in time for the Winter Olympic Games

29 metro trains were ordered from Siemens in Oct. 2001 and were built in Austria. The VAL 208 trains are formed by four 2.08 m wide cars, each train with a total length of 52 m.

A typical station is 19 m wide and 60 m long, and lies at an average depth of 16 m. Platforms are separated from the tracks by platform screen doors. Whereas stations were built by the cut-and-cover method, running tunnels were excavated by tunnel-boring machines (7.8 m diameter).

Marche station (Photos © Philippe Berthe) (More photos)

Turin also has an extensive tramway network (some 195 km) which includes light rail lines 3 and 9. Tram line 4 is being upgraded, and it is thought to become a partly underground (crossing the city centre) light rail line, linking the northern and southern parts of the city. It will efficiently integrate with metro line 1, which it will cross in the city centre.

Italian State Railways (Ferrovia dello Stato - Trenitalia) is building the Passante, an underground north-south rail link from Stura to Lingotto. From 2006 there will be trains every 5 minutes between Dora and Lingotto, and every 10 minutes from Dora to Stura.

Operating hours: 04:45 - 24:00

Peak hours - every 2 minutes
Other times - every 4-6 minutes

FARES:

Fares are integrated with all other transport modes:

Single - 1.00 EUR
15 Trips - 13.50 EUR
Day Ticket - 3.50 EUR

Torino Metro Track Map