Messina Earthquake devastates FS rail infrastructure in southern Italy

On December 28, 1908, one of Europe’s worst natural disasters struck the Strait of Messina region. The 7.1‑magnitude earthquake, followed by a tsunami, leveled much of Messina and Reggio Calabria. Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), only a year into its existence following Italy’s 1905 nationalization, saw widespread devastation of its southern network. Lines along the coasts were torn apart, embankments subsided, tunnels collapsed, and port‑side facilities used for train ferries were heavily damaged. Numerous FS employees were among the casualties, and locomotives and cars were buried beneath fallen station buildings. The rail disruption hindered relief efforts, prompting the Italian government and foreign navies to use emergency ferry and ship connections until temporary tracks could be rebuilt. Reconstruction of the FS southern network became one of Italy’s earliest large‑scale state‑managed rail recovery projects. The disaster demonstrated the vulnerability of coastal railways to seismic and tsunami events and informed later engineering standards in Italy’s southern rail corridors.