Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (FS Italiane Group) has awarded the consortium led by Impresa Pizzarotti & C. of Parma and Saipem as consortium company, the works, for a total amount of over one billion euros, for the construction of the bypass and the station AV of the Florence node.
“A work, eagerly awaited by the territory and considered strategic for the FS and RFI Groups, which will allow – reads a note from the Railways – a new configuration of the Florentine railway network, separating the flows of high-speed trains from those of regional services, with positive effects both on the regularity of the service and on its enhancement, in terms of frequency and number of journeys”.
The bypass of the new high-speed/high-capacity line which extends for about seven kilometers underground with two parallel tunnels at an average depth of about 20 meters, completed with two terminal sections on the surface: to the north between the stations of Firenze Castello and Firenze Rifredi , and to the south near the Florence Campo di Marte station. The excavation of the tunnels will take place with mechanized techniques through the use of a tunnel boring machine.
The new Firenze Belfiore high-speed/ac station will be built along the underground route, designed by the Foster architecture firm and the engineering firm Ove Arup and partners.
The station, served by high speed trains, will be interconnected with the Santa Maria Novella station and with the entire surrounding urban area thanks to various modes of transport: the new people-mover which will operate between the new station and Santa Maria Novella, the 2 of the city tram system already in operation and the new surface railway stop called Circondaria.
“We are proud to continue our commitment to strengthening Italy’s infrastructure – comments Carlo Luzzatto, CEO of Impresa Pizzarotti. The work just awarded by Rfi confirms the appreciation for the great distinctive skills put in place by our company and by Saipem , our partner. This is an award of great importance, iconic and highly prestigious: a strategic work not only for the territory, but for the whole country, given the criticality of the Florence railway junction. This work goes to add to the other railway initiatives that see us engaged in particular in Sicily, Campania, Puglia, Lombardy, Veneto and Liguria, all in the direction of increasing Italian sustainable mobility which can greatly affect the economic and social development of the country. We feel a great responsibility to do our best.”