Italian Railway Rail (RFI), responsible for the Italian Government Rail Infrastructure, has played a Consortium led by Webuild to design and build the Paola-Cosenza section on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed line in a $ 1.75 million contract.
Webuild has a 60%share, joined by Seli, Ghlow and printed Pizzarotti, according to the company’s announcement. According to Railway Pro, the project is expected to be completed by 2032; Webuild did not respond to the request for commentary on the timeline.
The team will build 22 kilometers of a new double line in Calabria, almost completely underground, with the Santomarco tunnel of 15.4 km as a central piece. Four tunnel machines will excavate most of the alignment, but the failed and loaded areas of water will require the traditional excavation, said Webuild.
The scope also includes nine bridges, two viaducts and a new station at Montalto Uffugo for the University of Calabria.
Engineers face the ground failed and changing hydrogeology throughout the alignment, requiring a combination of mechanized and conventional tunnel. Surface work intersecting rivers and drainage channels, needing a wide water management. Environmental safeguards include control of Malbé’s strict vibrations and controls, according to Italian ferrooviaria.
Priority of the European runner
The Salerno-Reggio Calàbria line is part of the EU Scandinavian-Med Network, identified by the European Commission as one of the nine “basic” transport hallways throughout the continent.
The travel time between Rome and Reggio Calabria is expected to fall into three hours and forty minutes, from the current five hours.
The Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, framed the works as “ central to complete the Med-MED hallway and increase access to southern Italy ”, adding observations for Reuters, “ this railway is not only a national priority: it is the investment of Europe in the future of Italy. We will not let technical obstacles download progress ”.
The cost of Paola-Cosenza of $ 79 million/km aligns with other works dominated by tunnel. In comparison, RFI places Naples – Bari at $ 6.32 million for 145 km, or about $ 43.6 million, on its Naples -Bari project page. In Sicily, RFI values the Taormin segment – Giampilieri del Corredor Palermo – Catani – Messina at $ 1.56 billion by 28 km, or $ 55.7 million.
The National Government Recovery and Resilience Plan, summarized in a parliamentary dossier reviewed by Enr, supports the push of the southern railway with $ 5.05 billion in loans. One of the first sections to move forward in this funding is the 35 km Battipaglia-Romagnano line, budgeted at $ 1.96 billion.
Construction is already underway with the help of “Partenope”, a 13.46 m tunnel tunnel machine weighing 4,000 tons with 10 MW of power that webuild says it is the largest in Europe.
Currently, the Sitges Infrastructure Portal of Italy has the 445 km global line of Salerno-Reggio Calabria at about $ 12.2 billion.
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Economic footprint
Webuild estimates that 1,500 employees will be used in Paola-Cosenza, while his portfolio in southern Italy covers 19 projects for a total of 320 km of high-speed railway, involving around 8,700 people and thousands of suppliers.
RFI emphasizes both the economic and social impacts: the transport of goods for the port of Gioia Tauro will work more efficiently, while tourists who go to Cilento, Vallo di Diano and the Ionian coast of Calabria will have faster access.
“The project will significantly improve the capacity and efficiency of the railway connection between the Costa de Tirrhenia and the interior areas of Calabria, guaranteeing better accessibility to COSENZA and strengthening the bari -Aranto – Gioia Tauro goods route,” said Webuild.
