Trains in Tuscany! R18507 Lucca - Pistoia with Trenitalia E464.633 and Vivalto coaches 26/06/2024

Video of the journey from Pistoia to Firenze here:
   • Trains in Tuscany! Ferrovia Maria Ant...  

Here is a video of one of my favourite Italian lines- the Lucca to Firenze Santa Maria Novella route.
This is the first part to Pistoia. It runs on a wide flat plain between the Monte Pisano mountain range (between Lucca and Pisa) and then threads through a gap in the Pistoian mountains to Pistoia itself.
Lucca is approximately equivalent to a station like Shrewsbury in the UK. It has 200+ train movements per day. To the west, the line runs to Viareggio and Pisa. To the east, the non-electrified Aulla line leaves, as well as the mainline to Pistoia, Prato and Firenze. There also used to be a secondary link to Pontedera, but this was not restored after its bridge over the Arno was destroyed in the second world war. At the moment, the line between Lucca and Montecatini is single track. This will be doubled, but work has not yet started (it is running late). There appears to be no agreed plan to double through Montecatini. However, from Montecatini, doubling work is well underway. It is running late due to problems with the new tunnel at Serravalle. From Serravalle to Pistoia, the double track is nearly ready to go.

Index points:

00:00:00 E464.633 pushing its train into Lucca
00:00:52 Leaving Lucca, running by a "Jazz" unit
00:01:34 A pair of D345 locos basking in the yard
00:03:37 Stub of the old Pontedera line leaves. The Aulla line leaves on the other side
00:04:17 The Monte Pisano range is in the background
00:05:35 Abandoned goods link to commercial site by A11
00:05:48 Tassignano-Capannori (pass)
00:05:58 Airship hangar
00:06:50 Terminal Ferroviario Frizzone, with shunter and DB loco in the yard
00:07:28 Porcari (pass)
00:09:53 Running by the A11
00:10:45 Altopascio
00:13:53 Montecarlo (pass)
00:16:51 Pescia
00:17:04 Passing R18462 to Lucca
00:19:18 Fiume Pescia
00:21:35 Borgo a Buggiano (pass)
00:25:14 Montecatini Centrale
00:26:39 Montecatini Terme- Monsummano
00:27:58 New, partially compelte double track section starts here
00:29:06 Pieve a Nievole-Monsummano (closed 1937)- station building is still behind the wall
00:30:12 Pistoian Mountains visible to the north of Pistoia
00:32:22 New Serravalle tunnel, which has run into problems and delayed the doubling project
00:32:37 Old Serravalle tunnel (1318m)
00:33:06 Serravalle Pistoiese (pass)- new as yet unused double track platform can be seen
00:33:30 New double track is nearly ready from here to Pistoia
00:35:34 Former Ansaldo-Breda (now Hitachi) train factory on other side
00:26:25 Classic Porrettana route joins- we run by Pistoia Depot, that is used for storing historic rolling stock
00:36:56 Pistoia