Locale Piedmont, Italy, and
Savoy, France, regions Dates of operation 1853 (1853)–1867 (1867) Successor Piedmont State Railway and
Paris Lyons and Mediterranean Railway Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
The Victor Emmanuel Railway (VER) was created on 25 May 1853 by decree of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia. It was authorised to run through Savoy from Culoz, at the boundary with France, via Chambéry and then through Piedmont, from Susa to Turin and onward to Buffalora at the boundary with Austrian territory. The Piedmont section was built by the VER itself. The Savoy section was built by Thomas Brassey and various partners but quickly purchased by the VER.
At the time both Savoy and Piedmont were ruled by Victor Emmanuel who was also Duke of Savoy and soon to be King of Italy. Victor Emmanuel was a constitutional monarch. He and his prime minister Count Camille Cavour were both keen to introduce railways in the interests of modernising and unifying Italy. At the time Italy consisted of small states and many of these were under Austrian control but the King and his Prime Minister hoped to change this.
The Piedmont section of the railway was completed in 1854. The Savoy section was completed to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in 1856. In between these two sections lay the Alps. Work on a tunnel began in 1857 and the first traffic ran through it in 1871.
In stages between 1859 and 1861, most of Italy was united under Victor Emmanuel but Savoy and Nice were ceded to France in return for her help. In 1862 the Savoy line was extended to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and in 1867 the Savoy part of the system was transferred to the PLM. On the Italian side the line was transferred to the Piedmont State Railway. The Victor Emmanuel Railway Company had served its purpose and the work on the line was continued in partnership between France and Italy.
For more recent information see the articles on the Culoz–Modane railway and the Turin–Modane railway.