The section of the line between the stations of Borgo and Porto originally belonged to the Ferrovia Circumetnea narrow-gauge regional railway which opened to traffic in 1895.

For the operation of the metro, this portion of the rail line was converted to standard gauge and mostly moved underground into a double-track 2.0 kilometres (1.2 mi)[2] cut-and-cover tunnel, except for the part of the route adjacent to the coast which runs on the surface for 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) and which is single-tracked.

During the first years of operation, this metro suffered from poor ridership, as its former route (from 1999 to 2016) merely skirted the city centre and therefore did not reach many popular destinations.

It involves a branch from the existing line at Galatea westward through the city centre, which is planned eventually to reach Catania's Fontanarossa airport to the south.

Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre use the same voltage too, but on 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Irish gauge tracks.E100 Series (E101-E103, 3 units) - Stanga-TIBB electric single-units railcars bought-second hand from the Ferrovia Centrale Umbra.