ITALY: As part of an intensive investment programme underpinned by EU funding, infrastructure manager RFI has awarded two route enhancement contracts totalling €633m.
Under a €374·2m contract announced on October 31, a consortium of Eteria Consorzio Stabile Scarl and Salcef is to double-track the 9 km Genga – Serra San Quirico section of the 163 km Orte – Falconara route.
The second track will be built on a new alignment, with six tunnels with a total length of 5 km as well as four bridges. There will be a new station in Genga near the Frasassi Cave Park.
The project is being financed from the European Union’s Recovery & Resilience Fund.
It forms part of RFI’s €4·4bn programme to increase capacity and raise speeds to 200 km/h on the Orte – Falconara line, which branches off the Roma – Firenze main line north of the capital and runs east to meet the Adriatic Corridor west of Ancona.
The second agreement sees a consortium of Impresa Luigi Notari, Costruzioni Linee Ferroviarie, SIFEL, D’Adiutorio Costruzioni, Quadrio Gaetano Costruzioni and Costruzioni Edili Baraldini Quirino receive a €259m contract to four-track the 8·5 km Rho – Parabiago section of the Gallarate – Rho line northwest of Milano.
This includes the construction of a Y-shaped junction south of Busto Arsizio station to allow trains to run through from Malpensa Airport to Parabiago, keeping them on the core RFI network rather than using the longer route through Saronno, managed by Ferrovienord. A new station is to be built at Nerviano, and Parabiago station is to be refurbished and expanded.
The project is also using Recovery & Resilience funding.
Meanwhile, RFI has called tenders to complete electrification of the 112 km Sibari – Crotone section of the Metaponto – Reggio Calabria line; preparatory works have been underway since 2018. The €47m project is to be financed through the EU’s RRF scheme.
