On February 20, Gianfranco Battisti, CEO of FS Italiane, and Maurizio Gentile, the General Manager of the Italian Railway Network (RFI), presented the EUR 14.6 billion programme to improve railway transport in Lombardy Region.
The programme, which will be implemented until 2025, envisages the modernisation and maintenance of region’s railway network, technological upgrades, the removal of some selected level crossings and the modernisation of the railway stations.
For technological improvement, starting this year new signalling system will be progressively put into operation with immediate benefits on lines’ reliability and trains’ regularity. The company intends to install the new computer based multi-station interlocking (ACCM) centres on five lines: by the end of 2019, it will be operational on the Bergamo – Rovato line, in 2020 other three lines will be fitted with the new technology, Voghera – Piacenza; Carnate – Ponte San Pietro, and Romano – Brescia. New centres will be functional on Domodossola line, in 2022 and in 2024, on Tortona line. In 2021-2022 technological improvements, including resignallisation works, will be carried out at Gallarate, Milan Lambrate and Milan Porta Garibaldi stations and on Carnate – Monza and Chiasso – Monza lines. In 2022, the High Density ERTMS technology will be implemented in Milan railway node, which will increase network’s capacity.
The programme also envisages upgrade works will be carried out on Ponte San Pietro – Bergamo – Montello, Milan – Mortara, the Codogno – Cremona – Mantua line will be double-tracked, track quadrupling works will be executed on Tortona – Voghera and Milan Rogoredo – Pavia lines. A new rail link will be constructed to serve the Orio al Serio airport, the third busiest international airport in Italy.
Yearly, 170 km of lines will be renewed, and 200 km line will be replaced.
For the removal of 110 level crossing, EUR 170 million will be invested and works are scheduled to be completed in 2024.
The stations’ modernisation project envisages radical changes to increase functionality and to improve accessibility, the installation of modern public information systems. This is the largest project on the redevelopment of railway stations. EUR 150 million will be invested for Codogno, Cremona and Romano stations.
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