About a week after the approval of the final project, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (FS Italiane Group) published on August 8 in the “Official Gazette: of the European Union the call for tenders, for a total amount of approximately 311 million euros, for the construction of the new Ferrandina-Matera La Martella line.The activation of the line is scheduled for 2026 and will allow the historic isolation of the Lucanian city to be broken by connecting it to the national network and thus facilitating mobility, otherwise problematic.
The launch of the tender, explains RFI, follows the approval of the final project by the extraordinary government commissioner for the work, Vera Fiorani, “and marks an important step in the development of the intervention, which is expected to be activated by 2026. and which is part of the works financed by the NRP “.
The new line, it should be noted, will make it possible to connect Matera to the national railway infrastructure through an electrified line of 20 kilometers with single track. The Matera-La Martella station will be served both by a direct connection with the Ferrandina station and by a connection to the north through the new link road with the Battipaglia-Potenza-Metaponto line. “The project – also says RFI – will also make it possible to establish long-distance railway connections between Matera and the high-speed system and to enhance the local public transport offer in the area in terms of frequency and quality”.
The release of the project, expected for decades, was welcomed with satisfaction by the institutions and social forces of Basilicata. For this area of Lucania that looks a lot to Puglia, the Ionian arch and the port of Taranto, a new perspective opens up, also from an economic point of view, also considering the launch of the Special Economic Zone. The latter, which in September will activate the one-stop shop to facilitate the establishment of businesses and economic activities, in fact also includes a large area of the Materano as well as leveraging the port of Taranto as its main asset.
Commissioner Fiorani: contractor within the year
“The publication of the call for tenders represents a very important and decisive step forward for the construction of the new Ferrandina-Matera La Martella line” declared Vera Fiorani, managing director of RFI and extraordinary government commissioner for the intervention in question.
«A work that has been expected for decades – Fiorani notes – which will finally be able to be built and will make it possible to connect the province of Matera to the national railway line. By the end of the year we will identify the contractor who will have to build the new line to activate the connection by 2026, in line with the schedule of the NRP. A result that was possible to achieve thanks to the joint work between the Region, the Municipality and the RFI team ».