Naples metro Line 6 has been officially opened with an inaugural trip on July 17, 2024, attended by the mayor Gaetano Manfredi, representatives of Hitachi Rail and other local authorities.
“With the inauguration of Line 6, a project started some 40 years ago amidst various difficulties and continuous upgrades is finally completed. At last, infrastructure work of high strategic value is handed over to the city. A further piece of the city’s mobility. In fact, the new metro line guarantees an increase in the number of interchange points in the city’s transport network, making it possible now to connect the western area with the city centre and, in the near future, to reach the airport area, which is currently outside the track connections. This is a significant step towards improving urban mobility, with reverberations in terms of strengthening the infrastructure network and as an opportunity for further impetus towards an increasingly sustainable, modern and efficient dimension of Naples,” the mayor of Naples said.
The 6 km line is served by eight stations of which four new, between Piazza Municipio and Mostra d’Oltremare, providing connection to Line Ente Autonomo Volturno (EAV) which links the city center at Montesanto and Torregaveta, in the south part of the city. The line connects the Fuorigrotta district with the city centre and port and includes the newly built stations of Arco Mirelli, San Pasquale, Chiaia and Municipio. The current planned frequency is one run every 13.5 minutes for 210 passengers each way.
The Municipio station will allow interchange with metro Line 1 and the Central funicular system, as well as with ferry transport. All stations, with the exception of Arco Mirelli and Municipio, also allow interchange with metro Line 2 and connection with the urban road transport service and with taxi parking areas.
While the new line will initially use existing rolling stock, Hitachi Rail will also introduce 22 new trains from 2025 under a EUR 200 million contract awarded by the Municipality of Naples in February 2024. The 39-metre-long trains have a capacity of 290 passengers which will be able to carry about 7,200 passengers per hour and per direction and allow significantly improve frequency of Line 6. When fully operational the planned frequency is one run every 4.5 minutes, making the metro an even more attractive transport option and reducing further road congestion.
Manufactured at Hitachi Rail’s sites, including in Naples and Pistoia, the new vehicles will have state of the art telecommunications and onboard digital signalling, as well as an innovative air-conditioning system that will significantly increase passenger comfort in all conditions and seasons.
An important part of this major project is the construction of the new railway depot for train maintenance and parking, which is essential to ensure high operating standards for the entire line. The depot will occupy an area of approximately 110,000 square meters and will include a new control room for the underground line. It represents an element of urban redevelopment and has been designed with the aim of achieving high standards of sustainability through the use of new materials, technologies and installations aimed at energy efficiency.
“It has been a long and complex journey that Hitachi Rail, as the concessionaire of the City of Naples for the design and construction of Line 6, has been able to harmonise and guide. The line that has inspired our work over the years has never changed: to contribute to the mobility of Neapolitan citizens. We have done this by constantly deploying our innovations and the best available technologies,” Luca D’Aquila, COO Hitachi Rail Group said.
Naples metro Line 6 project needed an investment of EUR 800 million with an ulterior financing of EUR 400 million for Via Campegna station, the depot and the completion of the train fleet. Through the EU’s Cohesion Fund, EUR 198.7 million has been allocated to construct this new metro line.
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