Following an inauguration on 12th October, the South-West quadrant of Milan will now be served by the city’s metro with construction of the final section of the M4, extending to the San Cristoforo terminus, completed by Hitachi Rail.
Passengers will benefit from a new strategic infrastructure and an additional interchange with the railway hub at San Cristoforo. The line, which also crosses the Cerchia dei Navigli, creates a new diagonal axis for the city, significantly enhancing the reach of the public transport network, reducing urban traffic, improving accessibility, and promoting the transition towards an eco-friendlier public transport system.
The completion of Milan’s M4 metro line follows the earlier openings of the “blue” line’s sections from Linate to Dateo, and subsequently San Babila, connecting Linate Airport to Milan’s city center in 12 minutes.
Hitachi Rail has provided 47 state-of-the-art autonomous trains, in addition to handling all activities related to the signaling system, the third rail (the vehicles’ power supply systems), telecommunications technologies, the platform screen doors, the SCADA system for supervision, control, and data acquisition, the depot equipment and fare and access control systems. Hitachi Rail also delivered the ATC signaling system, based on driverless CBTC technology, offering passengers greater reliability and safety. The completed line consists of 21 stations and spans 15 kilometers.
The new trains, which can reach a maximum speed of 80 km/h, operate at a frequency of one train every 90 seconds, which can be reduced to 75 seconds during peak hours. With a capacity of up to 500 passengers per train, the completion of the new line will enable the transportation of approximately 24,000 people per hour in each direction.
According to estimates, Milan’s M4 metro line will help avoid over 4 million car trips each year in Milan, providing significant benefits in terms of reducing air and noise pollution, with a consequent improvement in air quality. It is expected that annual CO2 emissions will be reduced by 10,310 tons, and particulate matter (PM10) by 1,511 kg.
“The completion of Line 4 represents another step forward for the citizens of Milan in the process of transitioning from private to collective mobility,” said Luca D’Aquila, COO of Hitachi Rail Group and CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy. “The inauguration of the final section to San Cristoforo will have a significant environmental impact, with over 4 million fewer car trips each year. This is an achievable target, according to estimates, thanks to the comfort and reliability of our vehicles, and safety of our signalling systems, which will enable citizens to travel safely.”
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