Born at the beginning of the twentieth century and designed in a period of industrial expansion, strongly influenced by the need to serve the sulfur mines in the area by facilitating the transport of the mineral to the ports of embarkation such as Licata and Porto Empedocle and allowing the movement of miners between residential centers and workplaces. Its construction began only many years after the Baccarini Law of 1879, in a difficult economic context and with a tortuous route designed to reduce costs and the need for large engineering works The section between Canicattì and Naro was inaugurated on February 28, 1911 marking the beginning of a new phase for local mobility and for the mining economy of the area The connection was narrow gauge, a typical feature of secondary Sicilian railways, and was not electrified. The line was about twelve and a half kilometers long and included a few stops including Rocca di Mendola, an agricultural hamlet of Naro. The route did not have rack sections, unlike other sections of the network, and the maximum gradient was twenty-five per thousand, allowing for relatively simple management of the convoys. The railway played a fundamental role in the transport of sulphur and agricultural products such as cereals, legumes and dried fruit, contributing to the economic growth of the communities it crossed and allowing greater mobility for commuters and miners. Despite good intentions, the line was built late compared to the real industrial needs and the decline of the sulphur industry together with the competition from road transport progressively reduced its usefulness. The railway service was abolished on 28 September 1958 and the line was dismantled shortly thereafter Today only a few recognisable sections of the old railway remain, often transformed into country roads or incorporated into cultivated fields while the service buildings are mostly abandoned and in ruins.
Translated by Google •
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