Ferrovie.it – Webuild delivers the first section of the Palermo doubling route to RFI

from Brevi railwaye of 13 June 2024

Webuild press release

The first section of the railway doubling between the Catania Bicocca and Catenanuova stations has been delivered, built in Sicily by Webuild on behalf of RFI, the lead company of the Infrastructure Hub of the FS Group. The overall project, which has reached 83% of the works, will allow an increase in trains in transit safely, reducing travel times and encouraging more sustainable mobility compared to road transport. Once the works are completed, capacity on the line will increase and trains will be able to travel at a maximum speed of 160 km/h, compared to the current 100 km/h which on some routes today is even reduced to 80-90 km/h. Travel time along this route will thus decrease from 25 to 17 minutes.

The 11.5 km section was completed in compliance with the accelerated work execution program signed in June 2023 with RFI, which aims to bring forward the complete activation of the railway doubling from February 2026 to February 2025. The activation of this section, the first in the Palermo – Catania – Messina route, will allow full use of the double track in the approximately 38 km that connect the Catenanuova station, in the province of Enna, to the Catania “Bicocca” station.

The section delivered is full of complex works, with 9 of the 17 railway viaducts present in the entire lot, and the removal of all level crossings has been planned to also guarantee safer road traffic in the areas crossed. In parallel, the adaptation of the “General Master Plan” of the Catania “Bicocca” station and that of the Catenanuova station were completed, again in compliance with the accelerated program, for the insertion of the double track of the section under construction in both existing stations . We now continue with the laying of the double track in the two sections between Sferro and Motta Sant’Anastasia, of approximately 16 km, and between Motta Sant’Anastasia and Bicocca, of approximately 10.5 km.

In Sicily, the Webuild Group is involved in the construction of 8 projects, with 7 railway sections on the high-capacity Palermo – Catania – Messina route and a section of the Ragusana, the motorway that will connect Ragusa and Catania. These are works that are part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the TEN-T network, which will contribute to equipping the island with modern transport infrastructure, guaranteeing development and specialized employment right from the construction phase. To date, 1,700 people have already been employed on these projects, including direct and third-party personnel, with the involvement of 1,150 companies in the supply chain since the works began.

The Sicilian shipyards are places of innovation and advanced research on processes, products and materials, contributing to the technological advancement of the sector and the competitiveness of the Group. The TBMs used for tunnel excavation are green, thanks to the most advanced technologies in terms of environmental sustainability. In Belpasso, in the province of Catania, Webuild has built a Roboplant robotized factory, for the production of the segments that will line the tunnels of the two lots that the Group is executing on the Catania – Messina route, while a second factory is soon to open in Dittaino , near Enna. The first of its kind in Italy, the Belpasso factory is able to produce a segment every 7 minutes (compared to the 10 minutes expected in the absence of total automation). And it is precisely to guarantee specialized manpower on the island’s construction sites that the Group is carrying out the Cantiere Lavoro Italia training and employment program, with the forecast of hiring 2,500 new resources in 2024 in Italy, 80% in the South.