Vesuvius railway to reopen after 60 years

Some 60 years after it was last used, the famous Thomas Cook funicular railway on Italy’s Mount Vesuvius is set to reopen. The railway, which was opened in 1880, and had to be rebuilt after the volcano erupted in 1910, was shut in 1944, when the last major eruption happened. Now, according to The Times newspaper, the railway is to be restored to its former glory following an agreement between the Campagnia region of Italy, the Vesuvius National Park and the Vesuvius Observatory. Amilcare Troiano, of the Vesuvius National Park, reportedly told the newspaper that the railway will initially run from San Vito to the observatory, some 200 metres from the top of the famous mountain, and that eventually it would be extended to the very top of the volcano. Thomas Cook and Sons owned and operated the railway from 1888. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad