Advanced technology for railway traffic management

Gallarate, 12 January 2026

Gallarate station, near Varese, has a strategic role in the regional and national railway network, being located at the intersection of key passenger and freight routes, including some international services. The increasing complexity of operations at this hub has prompted the installation of a new traffic control system, capable of combining high safety standards with more efficient and flexible infrastructure management.

The new Computerised Central Interlocking (ACC) system at Gallarate station was officially inaugurated at 5 a.m., on 12 January 2025, marking a significant step forward in the technological modernisation of the railway network in the region of Lombardy.

The system is part of a comprehensive major investment project aimed at overhauling the railway traffic control and command systems, and is the final step in a broader improvement process launched several years ago. In particular, the new ACC system follows the upgrading of tracks 7 and 8 to the standard European 750-metre module, completed in August 2023, for adapting the tracks to accommodate 750-metre long freight trains, and the construction of the first three tracks of the Fascio Parco set in September 2024, for more efficient freight traffic management towards the Ambrogio junction and the Simplon rail axis.

By installing this new system, the operator emphasises its commitment to upgrading the railway infrastructure and promoting rail freight transport, widely acknowledged as a sustainable and competitive alternative to road transport. The introduction of a centralised and digitised control system will optimise traffic management, improve operational efficiency and significantly contribute, albeit indirectly, to reducing the overall environmental impact of the transport system.

The new ACC system replaces the previous local control systems, ensuring more integrated and efficient rail traffic control, while also improving route management and traffic regulation and the system’s response capacity for both passenger and freight services.

Gallarate station has eight tracks in total, five are dedicated to passenger services, two to freight trains and one to shunting and routing. The project involved laying over 736 km of new cables and installing around 300 new-generation devices, including track circuits, signals, points and plant structures, reflecting its considerable importance and complexity.

Italferr’s role in the project was to draw up the final engineering designs for the required contracts, also verifying the construction drawings prepared by the contractors, acting as the supervisory body for validating the designs and as project manager for all the contracts, besides partial third party for verifying the ACC system configurations, and project manager for the overall project, which included coordinating and liaising with the client.