Naples-Bari high-speed line construction continues with COVID-19 measures in place

Salini Impregilo has announced that work is continuing on the high-speed railway line between Naples and Bari, which is currently under construction, despite the pandemic currently severely impacting Italy. At a time of national emergency, with the spread of COVID-19 continuing relentlessly, work on the Naples-Cancello section of the railway is going ahead – with a workforce of 200 people and the support of subcontractors from various parts of Italy – in full respect of the measures put in place to prevent infection.

On construction sites at locations deemed beneficial for clients and communities – like the ones for the new bridge in Genoa and the new M4 metro line in Milan – Salini Impregilo and Astaldi are working to ensure that work continues uninterrupted by applying the extraordinary safety measures in the strictest way possible to protect the health of their workers.

The Naples-Cancello section, worth €397 million and commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) in collaboration with Italferr, is the first part of the Naples-Bari high-speed railway. Work is currently being undertaken on the viaducts that will stretch for four kilometres, crossing a shopping mall, passing by the FCA plant in Pomigliano d’Arco and crossing over highways on steel bridges. Work is also being done on reinforced concrete diaphragm walls for the tunnels that will link the railway with the new station at Naples-Afragola.

The Naples-Bari line is a crucial project for the socio-economic development of southern Italy. As part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) – which is the European initiative to connect the region’s railways – it will improve the competitiveness of transport services and help to guarantee an integrated and sustainable system of mobility for the country and for Europe.

Salini Impregilo has built some of the most strategic railways in Italy, such as the Direttissima between Rome and Florence, as well as the more modern lines between Milan and Turin, and Bologna and Florence. It is currently working on the Terzo Valico dei Giovi between Genoa and Milan which, like the Naples-Bari line, will belong to a TEN-T corridor. In southern Italy, Salini Impregilo is working on the Bicocca-Catenanuova section of the Palermo-Catania line, which will enable travel between the two cities in under two hours.