Italy’s Minister of sustainable infrastructures and mobility, Enrico Giovannini, the CEO of RFI, Vera Fiorani, and the presidents of Umbria Region Donatella Tesei and Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani, signed an agreement to connect Umbria and Tuscany to the high-speed rail system through the Medio Etruria station.
“The initiative aims to increase the AV/AC accessibility for people who live and work in important areas of Central Italy, has an increased potential for economic development, not only in the tourism sector. Thanks to the establishment of the working group, we want to identify, with a rigorous and shared method, the most suitable solution in terms of general interest,” the minister said.
Under the MoU, the sides will identify the best solution to connect the areas of the two regions to the high-speed high-capacity (AV/AC) services by constructing a new ‘Medio Etruria’ station. The parties will establish a technical working group which will have to evaluate the various variants for the construction of the new station on the Florence – Rome railway line. In-depth technical analyses will have to be developed to compare the various solutions for the location of the station, also in light of the mobility demand of the various territorial areas and the social and economic effects of the hypotheses.
“The expansion of Tuscany’s connections to the high-speed system is of strategic importance. We await the restart of the works on the Florence high-speed node and at the same time we are convinced of the need to give a renewed impulse through the protocol to the feasibility study of the new Medio Etruria station,” the President of Tuscany Region said.
The working group will complete its work within six months of the signing of the protocol, unless there is an agreement between the parties to extend its activity.
“The agreement represents a new important component for the regional transport which will allow the identification of a functional and adequate site for the new ‘Medio Etruria’ station by connecting the high-speed line on the route Rome – Florence, in order to be able to quickly connect Umbria both to the South and to the North,” President of the Umbria Region said.
A new station such as Medio Etruria will allow better accessibility and intermodality of the connections of central Italy, the CEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana explained.
The Medio Etruria station project is located on the Florence – Rome railway line and is part of the approved Regional Transport Plan (PRT) of Umbria and Regional integration infrastructure mobility (PRIIM) of Tuscany Region and is has the potential of providing high-speed connection through the Florence – Rome high-speed line.
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