ITALY: Infrastructure manager RFI has awarded a €1·6bn contract to the Santomarco Consortium for the construction of a 22·2 km double-track line mostly in tunnel, to link the future Salerno – Reggio Calabria high speed line north of Cosenza with the existing conventional line on the coast south of Paola.
Forming part of the Salerno – Reggio Calabria high speed line project, the agreement was announced by lead contractor Webuild on August 19, which makes up 60% of the consortium, with Ghella, Impresa Pizzarotti&C, and Seli Overseas sharing the rest.
The majority of the alignment will be built in tunnel, the longest of which will be the 15 km Santomarco tunnel. The twin-bore, single-track tunnels will be excavated using four tunnel-boring machines.
Nine bridges and two viaducts are planned, the longest of which would be 350 m.
A new station is to be built at Montalto Uffugo, 8 km north of Cosenza, to serve the area including the University of Calabria campus at Rende.
The line will be built parallel to the existing single-track line, which will be closed once the works are completed. Inauguration is planned for 2032.
The first, 35 km Battipaglia – Romagnano section of the Salerno – Reggio Calabria high speed line is under construction, funded through the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Fund, making it due for completion by August 2026.
- Dig deeper: read our update on the works on major Italian projects, mostly funded by the RRF, in the September 2025 issue of Railway Gazette International.
