Excavation work has been launched for the Taormina – Fiumefreddo rail section of the Catania – Messina railway line at Taormina site in Sicily.
A ceremony was held on March 23, 2023, attended by Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, the President of Region of Sicily, Renato Schifani, the Regional councilor for Infrastructures and Mobility, Alessandro Aricò, Ferrovie dello Stato CEO, Luigi Ferraris, and the CEO of Webuild Pietro Salini.
On the Fiumefreddo-Taormina/Letojanni section (Lot 1), 15.4 km of line will be doubled including the connection to the station at Letojanni. Of this total distance, 11 km will be in tunnels to be excavated in part by two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs). Lot 1 will include the construction of the Taormina station, two other stops, new viaducts with one crossing the Alcantara Valley at 928 metres in length and an arch span of 120 metres. The project also covers technological upgrading of Giampilieri – Fiumefreddo section one of the most demanding of the Catania – Messina railway.
The Taormina – Fiumefreddo section is part of the project of doubling, speeding up and technological upgrading of the Giampilieri – Fiumefreddo, one of the most demanding of the Catania – Messina railway, which involves the construction of 43 km of a new double track, of which about 37 km underground.
The construction work is performed by the consortium of Webuild (leader), Pizzarotti and Astaldi under the supervision of Italferr under a EUR 640 million contract awarded in June 2021. In addition, Webuild won a EUR 1 billion contract for the Taormina – Giampilieri (Lot 2) section of the Palermo – Catania – Messina line.
Talking about the importance of the rail connections between Sicily and the rest of Italy, the President of Sicily Region said that “we are celebrating the launch of a lot of works included in a wider programme, which finally sees Sicily at the center of infrastructure investments for the improvement of transport. We inherit a difficult situation, due to a history that has seen Sicily as an almost abandoned land in terms of connections.”
Over 7,000 people will be involved in the project when fully operational, including engineers, technicians and workers.
The Palermo – Catania – Messina high-capacity rail project is partially financed with funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and aims at reducing travel time between Palermo and Catania by one hour, offering a 2 hour-journey and by 30 minutes to 45 minutes between Messina and Catania. EUR 11 billion is the total value of the Palermo – Messina rail project, of which EUR 2.3 billion is the value of the Fiumefreddo – Giampilieri section. Recently, the European Commission announced a EUR 3.4 billion investment for the entire project.
The project along the railway line linking Palermo and Messina includes track doubling and electrification of Fiumefreddo – Giampielieri section, doubling the Bicocca – Catenanuova (which was extended to include the 15 km Nuova Enna-Dittaino) and Fiumetorto – Lercata sections and the modernisation of Catania rail junction.
The project is split into six main sections:
- Fiumetorto – Lercara (Lot 1 and 2) expected to be completed by the end of 2029;
- Lercara branch line – Caltanissetta Xirbi (Lot 3) scheduled to be put into operation in 2026;
- Caltanissetta Xirbi – Enna (Lot 4a) which will become operational in October 2026;
- Enna – Dittaino (Lot 4b) with completed works in 2026;
- Dittaino – Catenanuova (Lot 5) to enter services in 2026;
- Catenanuova Bicocca (Lot 6) which will start operation in February 2025.
The second phase of the project includes Catania Junction for which the plan would see the Catania Acquicella – Bicocca line moved underground at Central Station to eliminate interference with the Fontanarossa Airport and is scheduled to be completed in December 2026 and from 2030 the double track construction between Catania Centrale and Catania Acquicella will be completed.
The project is part of EUR 21 billion Infrastructure Pole’s programme in Southern Italy, focusing on Sicily to modernise, build and digitalise the railway network of the island. Catania – Messina railway project is one the most important projects to be implemented under this programme which also involves construction of the double track between Fiumetorto and Castelbuono (on Palermo – Messina connection), the Augusta bypass, the completion of Palermo railway ring, Palermo node, and the installation of ERTMS technology.
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