Excavation of the tunnels on the Telese-Vitulano section began today, another step towards the completion of the new Naples-Bari High Speed/High Capacity line.
The event also inaugurated the first central-southern Italy stage of the "Cantieri Parlanti" (Talking Construction Sites) project for FS Italiane Group, carried out together with the companies RFI and Italferr and in collaboration with the MIT, to familiarise the affected territories with what these sites are all about.
The new route consists in the doubling and speeding up of the historic line between Frasso Telesino and Vitulano (Benevento) by overlapping the existing corridor for about 30 kilometers, partly as a variant and partly alongside. Four new stops are planned (Amorosi, Solopaca, San Lorenzo and Ponte Casalduni) while the Telese station will be rebuilt. Tunnel excavation work will be carried out using traditional methods by adopting monitoring systems that will allow about 400 people to work at full capacity in full safety 24/7. The work, entrusted by RFI to Consorzio Telese Scarl for a total amount of 470 million euros, is being carried out under the works supervision of Italferr. The engineering company of FS Group's Infrastructure Hub was also responsible for the preliminary and final design of the entire Naples-Bari HS/HC line, an integral part of the European TEN-T Scandinavian-Mediterranean Railway Corridor and representing the first and most advanced work of the Infrastructure Hub towards the strengthening of the railway network in southern Italy. Also financed by NRRP funds, the new infrastructure, scheduled for completion in 2027, will speed up the direct cross-connection between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas, improving the connections of the Puglia region and of the innermost provinces of Campania with the Milan-Rome-Naples HS/HC line.
The Naples-Bari section has been the first sustainable infrastructure to be awarded the Envision certification in Europe and the first railway line to achieve this recognition worldwide. It is a project that embodies and advances a new concept of infrastructure capable of triggering effective growth opportunities for the territories and communities involved.