Train 904 bombing

The Train 904 bombing, also known as the Christmas Massacre, was a terror attack which occurred on December 23, 1984, in the Apennine Base Tunnel. A bomb on the 904 express train (Rapido 904) from Naples to Milan was detonated, killing 16 and wounding 266. The bombing location was near the location of the Italicus Express bombing ten years previously.

The motive behind the bomb attack was to distract Italian security forces from investigating the Sicilian Mafia after the testimony of the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta to Antimafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone had led to a series of arrest warrants in September 1984 that subsequently would lead to the Maxi Trial against 474 Mafia defendants. Mafia boss Giuseppe Calò, also known as "Pippo", was convicted for ordering and organising the attack in February 1989. In April 2011 Mafia "boss of bosses" Salvatore Riina was indicted for ordering the bombing.

On Sunday, December 23, 1984 the Rapido 904 was on regular service between Naples and Milan. It was traveling northbound, overcrowded by 700 holiday passengers coming back home or visiting relatives due to the upcoming Christmas holidays. At 19:08 a bomb exploded in the ninth car, a 2nd class coach in the middle of the train-set. The train was 8 kilometers into the Apennine Base Tunnel, on the Florence-Bologna line near Vernio, on a long straight stretch with speed limits of up to 160 km/h at the time, and was running at 150 km/h.

The bomb had been placed on a luggage rack whilst the train was in Florence Santa Maria Novella railway station. Unlike train bombings in the previous decades of political turmoil, the bomb was remote controlled and was detonated while the train was well into the tunnel, in order to maximize the damage. The bomb exploded as planned. Its shock wave, reflected by the tunnel sides, blew out all the window glass and internal doors, throwing shrapnel-like shards into the compartments. 15 died as a direct consequence of the blast, and two more died later because of their wounds.