EU funding is making possible the implementation of the second phase of a project to renew and upgrade a railway connection around the Sicilian capital Palermo, as well as transforming it into a double-track line. Due for completion in June 2023, the work forms part of a wider project to improve the entire Palermo railway node, a component of the Trans-European Transport Network’s (TEN-T) Berlin-Rome-Palermo axis. This axis falls within the TEN-T Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor, which runs from the Finnish capital Helsinki to Valletta, capital of Malta.
- 13 July 2018
In its second phase, the project covers the completion of the excavation of the section of tunnel between Palazzo di Giustizia and Lolli, and the finalisation of the installation of technological systems and safety works in the same tunnel between Palazzo Reale-Orleans and Notarbartolo.
Also included is the completion of technological works on the new track of the subsection between Bivio Oreto and Palazzo Reale-Orleans, construction of the stops at Palazzo di Giustizia, Guadagna and Lolli, upgrades to the Palazzo Reale-Orleans and Vespri stops, and the expansion of Notarbartolo station.
Upgrades on three sections of track
The wider initiative involves the upgrade of a total of 30 km of railway, around half of it in tunnels. It has four stations and 18 stops, of which nine are newly built under the project.
For the purposes of the upgrades, the railway is divided into three sections: the 7 km section between Palermo Centrale/Brancaccio and Notarbartolo, which passes through the centre of the city, including a number of historical and densely populated areas, and on which the work under the current project is being carried out; the 7 km between Notarbartolo and San Lorenzo Colli; and the 16 km from San Lorenzo Colli to Carini.
From Carini, the line continues westwards to the station serving Palermo’s international airport at Punta Raisi and from there to Trapani, the main city on Sicily’s west coast. In the other direction, the railway connects Palermo with Messina, the island’s third largest city and the port for the principal ferry link with the Italian mainland. The project contributes to the conversion of the entire Palermo-Messina railway to a double-track line.
Promoting clean transport
By improving both the structural and technological standards of the railway, the investment will promote the use of a clean means of urban transport, leading to reduced traffic congestion in Palermo and a healthier environment with lower levels of atmospheric pollution.
The main beneficiaries of the intervention will be the current and future users of the rail transport services, particularly those who travel into the Palermo metropolitan area for study and work. Based on the size of the active population aged between 14 and 65 residing in the province of Palermo, it is estimated that they should number more than 800 000.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Raddoppio ferroviario di Palermo - Tratta ‘A’ - II. phase” is EUR 41 278 849, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 29 596 935 through the “Sicilia” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.