ANSALDO STS was awarded a €426m contract by the Napoli local authority on September 28 for the construction of the Mergellina to Municipio second phase of the city's metro Line 6. Completion of the 3·1 km underground extension is planned for 2012.
The Ansaldo Trasporti Sistemi Ferroviari subsidiary of Ansaldo STS has been appointed as the main contractor to the local authority, and will be responsible for design and construction of all civil engineering works, as well as the supply of railway systems, signalling, automation technology and rolling stock.
The initial 1·9 km Mostra to Mergellina section of Line 6 which opened to passengers in February (RG 3.07 p127) was built under a separate €107m contract, bringing the total cost of the line to €533m. Second phase works include provision for a planned future extension of the line west from Mostra station to the former Arsenale area at Via Campegna.
Ansaldo STS anticipates a standard service frequency of a train every 4½ minutes, with provision for a minimum headway of 3 min if required. The maximum capacity will be 7 200 passengers per hour (or 46 million per year), with average speeds of 28 km/h.
