01
What the operating day is like
Historic rolling stock: Fondazione FS operates dated historic trains on the mountain route. Bike transport: Selected 2026 heritage trains advertise free bicycle carriage in an equipped luggage van.
Italy · Scenic · Heritage
Trans-Siberian Railway of Italy
The so-called Trans-Siberian Railway of Italy is Fondazione FS’s heritage operation on the Sulmona–Isernia mountain line, with dated historic trains climbing from the Peligna Valley toward Roccaraso and Castel di Sangro through some of central Italy’s wildest high-country scenery.
Sulmona → Roccaraso
Scenic · Heritage
- Experience
- Rail enthusiasts · Slow travellers
- Route
- Sulmona → Roccaraso
- Time aboard
- 2h 35m
Why this railway matters
A working line with a history
Choose it for the landscape and scarcity: the route is no longer an ordinary frequent passenger service, so each heritage departure turns a remarkable Appennine railway into an event.
On the railway
The operating day, up close
Bicycle space
Selected 2026 heritage trains advertise free bicycle carriage in an equipped luggage van.
Verified
Historic rolling stock
Fondazione FS operates dated historic trains on the mountain route.
Verified
The historic line
The route and its landmarks
The published route runs from Sulmona to Roccaraso via Campo di Giove railway station, Rivisondoli-Pescocostanzo railway station.
Key stops
Sulmona railway stationCampo di Giove railway stationRivisondoli-Pescocostanzo railway stationRoccaraso railway station
Sulmona railway station
Italy
Campo di Giove railway station
Italy
Rivisondoli-Pescocostanzo railway station
Italy
Roccaraso railway station
Italy
Along the line
High Abruzzo railway
Heritage / steam
What to know before you choose
02
What defines the route
High Abruzzo railway
03
Before you book
Reservation: required. Direct online booking is recorded. Pricing is recorded as dynamic. Book a specific Fondazione FS / FS Treni Turistici Italiani heritage departure; trains operate only on selected dates.
Verified 2026-09-28
Plan the ride
Plan the operating day
Use the verified journey, booking, season and onboard facts below to decide how to take this experience. Unknowns stay explicit.
- Time aboard
- 2h 35m
- Reservation
- Required
- Booking
- Direct online booking recorded
- Rail pass
- Not verified
- Price context
- Dynamic; check the live departure
- Timing
- Check the current operating calendar
- On board
- Historic rolling stock: Fondazione FS operates dated historic trains on the mountain route. Bike transport: Selected 2026 heritage trains advertise free bicycle carriage in an equipped luggage van.
This guide does not imply a product variant unless a separate comparison decision is published.
Evidence on demand
Practical reality
Route, onboard, season, fit and booking detail remain available without interrupting the journey above. Unknowns stay visible.
Time & itinerary
2h 35m
View route map and verified stops
Sulmona → Roccaraso
The published route runs from Sulmona to Roccaraso via Campo di Giove railway station, Rivisondoli-Pescocostanzo railway station.
Key stops
Sulmona railway stationCampo di Giove railway stationRivisondoli-Pescocostanzo railway stationRoccaraso railway station
Sulmona railway station
Italy
Campo di Giove railway station
Italy
Rivisondoli-Pescocostanzo railway station
Italy
Roccaraso railway station
Italy
On board
The appeal here is the survival of an older way of travelling: short distances covered slowly, with the railway on display as much as the scenery. At a few hours between Sulmona and Roccaraso, it is long enough to feel like a journey and short enough to watch the whole of it without losing concentration. Passing Rivisondoli-Pescocostanzo railway station gives the journey its midpoint, and the character either side of it is noticeably different.
Access & practical
Bicycle space
Selected 2026 heritage trains advertise free bicycle carriage in an equipped luggage van.
Also onboard
Historic rolling stock
Fondazione FS operates dated historic trains on the mountain route.
2 onboard details are confirmed against a source. Anything not listed here has not been researched yet; treat it as unknown, not absent.
When to go
- JanNot verified
- FebPart season
- MarPart season
- AprNot verified
- MayNot verified
- JunNot verified
- JulNot verified
- AugPart season
- SepNot verified
- OctPart season
- NovPart season
- DecPart season
- Part season
- Not verified
- Part season
- Feb–Mar · Aug · Oct–Dec
- Verified
- Feb–Mar · Aug · Oct–Dec · Other months not verified
These months show when the train runs, which is a service fact. How good each month is for the experience has not been rated yet, so no month is presented as better than another.
Month ratings describe scenery and conditions. Which months the service actually runs has not been verified yet.
Month-by-month notes
- Jan: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Feb: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Mar: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Apr: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- May: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Jun: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Jul: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Aug: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Sep: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Oct: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Nov: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
- Dec: Verified 2026 Fondazione FS departures exist in these months; other months are left unknown rather than assumed closed.
Good for
Good fit for
Rail enthusiasts
Especially good
Rare dated heritage operations animate a spectacular otherwise non-regular mountain passenger line.
Slow travellers
Especially good
Full-day heritage departures are designed around landscape and local stops rather than speed.
Photographers
Especially good
High Abruzzo plateaux, forests and mountain towns provide exceptional seasonal scenery.
Think twice if
You cannot just turn up
A reservation is required for this journey.
Booking takes some effort
Verified as difficult to book.
How it scores
Our current editorial assessment, for comparing journeys, a considered judgement, not a measurement.
SceneryExceptional
ComfortModerate
Value for moneyStrong
Food & drinkModerate
Character of the trainExceptional
Show the full editorial profile
More subjective
UniquenessExceptional
Iconic statusExceptional
PhotographyExceptional
RomanceModerate
Travelling with childrenStrong
Not rated yet: seat quality, onboard service, slow travel quality, remoteness.
Step-free access and assistance are set out with the practical detail further down rather than reduced to a score.
Reservation & booking
- Reservation
- Required
- Price
- Dynamic pricing
- Booking difficulty
- Difficult
Prices quoted Fare varies by dated Fondazione FS heritage departure and itinerary.
Not yet verified: rail pass validity. We leave these blank rather than guess.
- Book a specific Fondazione FS / FS Treni Turistici Italiani heritage departure; trains operate only on selected dates.
Visit FS Treni Turistici Italiani's website (opens the operator site in a new tab)Compare similar journeys
Only the operator's website is verified for this service. Timetables, fares and reservations must be found from there. Journey length: 2h 35m. Checked 1 Nov 2026 · Fondazione FS Italiane.
Sources & freshness
The detailed source record remains at the end of this guide. Review the evidence.
Your next step
Check the operating day, then confirm it with the railway.
Book a specific Fondazione FS / FS Treni Turistici Italiani heritage departure; trains operate only on selected dates.
Visit FS Treni Turistici Italiani's website (opens in a new tab)Only the operator's website is verified for this service. Timetables, fares and reservations must be found from there.
Far by Rail is a discovery guide, not a live timetable or booking service. Confirm times, fares and availability with the operator.
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Sources & freshness
Journey information is reviewed against published material and maintained as sources change.
Last reviewed 1 Nov 2026.
Official sources
- Fondazione FS Italianefondazionefs.it
Checked 1 Nov 2026