VERONA, ITALY (Metro Rail News): Webuild Group led consortium IRICAV 2 by the has today signed a contract worth a total of about EUR 2.5 billion to start work on the first section of a high-speed & high-capacity railway being developed between Verona and Padua and commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
The signing comes as the Group forges ahead with Progetto Italia, a strategy to consolidate and strengthen Italy’s infrastructure sector. The Group owns 83% of the consortium with Webuild at 45.44%, Astaldi at 37.49% and Hitachi Rail STS. The section, which will comprise a total investment of EUR 2.7 billion by RFI with a completion date of 2027, will run for 44.2 kilometres between Verona and Bivio Vicenza, crossing 13 municipalities. By quadrupling the existing railway, it will improve the quality of the train service and strengthen its links to a European network, helping reduce the impact on the environment as well as the number of road accidents.
The project, worth a total of EUR 2.47 billion, will see work start immediately on a EUR 874 million part of the first section. The other EUR 1.59 billion for the second part of the section will be financed within 12 months. The investment being made on the entire length of the railway between Verona and Padua is estimated at EUR 4.8 billion, EUR 4.2 billion of which is available to the general contractor. It represents an important link across the country’s northeast. It also serves as an example of how infrastructure can bring employment and foster economic revival. Work on the first section is to create about 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The project, part of the high-speed/high-capacity railway between Milan and Venice, will belong to the Mediterranean Corridor that will link Spain and Ukraine. One of the strategic trans-European transport corridors, the so-called TEN-T core network, it will connect southwestern European countries with countries to the east. The Corridor will support traffic between Europe and Asia. In Europe, meanwhile, it will handle traffic between the southern and eastern regions. With the addition of the line between Milan and Venice to the national network, 75% of the Italian population will have access to high-speed rail service.
