ARCUS Atlas record
Ponte ferroviario sul Corace (FCL)
Total collapse of the railway bridge over the Corace river on the Ferrovia Cosenza-Catanzaro Lido (FCL, ex Calabro-Lucane) between the stations of Cicala and San Pietro Apostolo (Catanzaro, Calabria) on 28 January 2010, triggered by the flooding of the Corace during exceptional winter rainfall. One fatality was recorded: a maintenance worker of the Ventura company was swept away by the floodwaters at the bridge site. Only the prompt intervention of the train driver, who braked before reaching the collapsed section, prevented a catastrophic rail accident. The FCL line was suspended and remained closed until 4 August 2011 — a closure of 18 months. The structure replaced a previous masonry bridge that had already collapsed in the 1970s and was known to be vulnerable to the notoriously powerful flash floods of the Corace. Database ponti fluviali danneggiati di D'Angelo, Ballio & Ravazzani (2025), IJDRR 'Geomorphologic risk factors for river bridges', suppl. S3, record P149 (accuratezza diagnosi dec=1): processo = erosione verticale (scour); componenti danneggiate = pile, impalcato; evidenza di sormonto = no. Historic masonry/stone arch bridge; collapse caused by scour of the pier foundation due to intense fluvial erosion during the flood.
- ARCUS ID
- IT10.01.01
- Date
- 2010-01-28
- Municipality
- Cicala
- Province
- Catanzaro
- Region
- Calabria
- Coordinates
- 39.0098, 16.4812 · exact location
- Crossing
- Corace river
- Use
- Railway
- Severity
- TC
- Structural type
- Arch bridge
- Material
- Masonry
- Cause category
- Natural
- Specific cause
- Hydraulic
- Failure trigger
- Flood
- Failure process
- Scour
- Component involved
- Multiple components
- Cause evidence
- Documented
- Source confidence
- High
- Victims
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
Documentary sources (3)
- Ferrovia Cosenza-Catanzaro: il crollo del ponte sul Corace nel 2010 e la chiusura 18 mesi (News · Il Reventino · 2015-03-06)
- Ferrovia Cosenza-Catanzaro Lido: crollo ponte Corace 2010 (News · Wikipedia IT · 2025-12-09)
- Bridge collapses in Italy across the 21st century: survey and statistical analysis (Scientific · Journal Paper · 2025-01-01)