ITALY: Revenue services started running on October 7 over an additional pair of tracks added to the existing two between Voltri and Sampierdarena stations in Genova.
The milestone in the Genova Node programme was marked by an inaugural train previous day carrying Edoardo Rixi, Deputy Infrastructures and Transport Minister, Calogero Mauceri, Extraordinary Government Commissioner for the project, as well as senior management of state railway group FS.
A new pair of south-to-northwest tracks were built from Sampierdarena mostly in tunnel as far as a triangular junction where the routes divide to serve an existing connection to the port of Voltri, and to reach the southern end of the new Terzo Valico railway towards Milano. This is being built to provide additional capacity for trains to northern Italy and the rest of Europe.
The newly built tracks are to be used by freight trains and long-distance passenger services. The original double-track alignment lying nearer to the coast will now be served by suburban and regional trains, allowing more services to run towards Savona and Ventimiglia.
Built by a consortium led by the Webuild Group, the project consisted of the construction of the 3 km Polcevera tunnel and new evacuation and rescue points. Hitachi Rail supplied the signalling system, and traffic along the new section is managed from a control room at Genova Teglia.
The Genova Node project has been under construction since 2010 and remaining elements include the addition of two more tracks to the existing four between Genova’s Principe and Brignole hubs.
- Read our feature article about untangling the Genova Node in the September 2018 issue of Railway Gazette International.
