When Italy’s Sulmona-Carpinone train opened for service in 1897, it was hailed as an engineering masterpiece for its ability to navigate steep slopes across the Abruzzo region. The 73-mile route remains the second highest in the country—it climbs up to 4,160 feet in the Maiella mountains and traverses areas still without roads today.

With the rise of the automobile and mass migration from the countryside to cities, the historic train shut down in 2010. Buses replaced trains for daily transportation, but they ran infrequently and struggled with winter conditions on the mountains, causing still more townsfolk to leave for the convenience of bigger cities.