The Future of Florence Tramway: New Lines and Extensions (2026-2030)

Florence is internationally famous for its Renaissance masterpieces, but in recent years, it has also become a textbook example of modern urban mobility. The city’s tramway network (tramvia) is rapidly expanding, transforming how residents and tourists move across the metropolitan area.

If you visited Florence a few years ago, you might only remember a couple of lines. By 2030, the city will be wrapped in a fully integrated, high-capacity light rail network. Here is exactly what the network looks like today in 2026, and what is coming next.

1. The Network Today (Where We Stand in 2026)

Currently, the Florence tramway relies on two main cross-city spines that intersect at the central Santa Maria Novella (SMN) railway station, moving over 40 million passengers annually.

  • Line T1 (Leonardo): This is the historical backbone of the network. It runs from the south-western suburb of Scandicci (where you find the large Villa Costanza highway parking lot), cuts right through Stazione SMN, and continues north toward the Dalmazia district, terminating at the Careggi University Hospital (with a crucial stop at the Meyer Children’s Hospital).
  • Line T2 (Vespucci): This line connects Peretola Airport (Amerigo Vespucci) directly to the heart of the city. Following its strategic extension inaugurated in January 2025, Line T2 now runs past Stazione SMN, touches the major junction of Piazza della Libertà, and terminates right in the historic center at Piazza San Marco / Università, serving the main university building and the museum district.

2. Horizon 2027: Line 3.2.1 to Bagno a Ripoli

The next major milestone for Florentine mobility is the inauguration of Line 3.2.1, expected to enter service by mid-2027. Construction is currently underway along the southern arterial roads.

The Route and Geographics

This line connects the northern boulevards with the south-eastern suburbs through a strategic urban path:

  • 📍 Piazza della Libertà (The northern interchange hub)
  • ➔ Piazza Beccaria (Passing along the ring boulevards)
  • ➔ Lungarni & Arno River (Crossing via the modified Ponte da Verrazzano)
  • ➔ Gavinana District (Running down the center of Viale Giannotti)
  • 🏁 Bagno a Ripoli (The southern terminal and gate to the Chianti area)

Why it Matters for Visitors

For tourists and sports fans, this line will be a game-changer. It will connect the historic center directly to the Viola Park in Bagno a Ripoli, the state-of-the-art training center of the ACF Fiorentina football team, which hosts numerous public events and youth matches. It also opens up easy public transit access to the southern hills and the gateway to the Chianti wine region.

3. The Next Phase: Line 3.2.2 (Campo di Marte / Rovezzano) & Line 4.1 (Le Piagge)

Once the Bagno a Ripoli line is secured, the network will branch out further to cover the eastern and western outskirts, transforming old railway corridors and major sports hubs.

  • Line 3.2.2 (The Stadium Line): This section will split from the southern line at Viale Don Minzoni, heading straight toward the Campo di Marte district. This is a crucial route for both locals and visitors, as it will serve the Artemio Franchi Stadium (home of ACF Fiorentina) and the Nelson Mandela Forum, making it incredibly easy to reach major football matches and concerts by rail. The line will then terminate further east at the Rovezzano railway station.
  • Line 4.1 (Le Piagge): Heading toward the western suburbs, this line will start from the Porta al Prato/Leopolda hub, run alongside the scenic Cascine Park, and reach Le Piagge by converting a section of an old, underutilized railway line into a modern tramway path. A future extension (Line 4.2) is already planned to push even further into the industrial and residential hub of Campi Bisenzio.

4. Reaching the University Hub: Line 2.2 to Sesto Fiorentino

Another massive addition to the network is the northern extension of Line T2. Instead of terminating at Peretola Airport, a new branch will head toward Sesto Fiorentino.

This line is highly anticipated as it will connect the city center and the airport directly to the Sesto Scientific Campus (Polo Scientifico), the major university hub that hosts thousands of students, researchers, and laboratories. It will also guarantee a fast connection to the Castello railway station—creating a strategic interchange hub—while directly serving the major Poste Italiane sorting center and the surrounding commercial and shopping district, making daily commuting significantly easier for thousands of workers.

5. The Future Network Map (Visualizing the Shift)

To understand how these lines will stitch the city together, take a look at the comprehensive network map below. The solid lines represent the infrastructure you can already ride today (Lines T1 and T2), while the dashed tracks illustrate the expansions under construction or officially approved for the coming years.

6. The Grand Vision: The Prato-Campi-Airport Orbital Link

Looking even further into the future, the Tuscany Region has put forward a bold infrastructure proposal that goes beyond the traditional radial system centered on Florence.

The project involves a light rail or "light metro" orbital link designed to connect the massive industrial and residential hub of Prato and the municipality of Campi Bisenzio directly with Florence Peretola Airport.

Instead of forcing commuters to travel into Florence's central station just to catch a connection back out to the suburbs, this "Piana Ring" (Anello della Piana) would create a direct, high-frequency bypass. It represents the transition of the Florence tramway from a simple city network into a true metropolitan transit system capable of serving a basin of nearly one million people.