A series of technical improvements is being made to the railway line between the stations of Metaponto, Sibari, Bivio Sant’Antonello and Paola in the province of Cosenza, in southern Italy’s Calabria region, with support from EU funding. The aim of the project is to strengthen railway links between the port of Gioia Tauro on the Tyrrhenian Sea and those of Taranto and Bari on the Adriatic, as well as between Calabria and the region of Apulia more generally.
- 20 December 2017
The project is being implemented over two phases and in its second phase includes the reconstruction of 70 kilometres of railway, elimination of two level crossings and re-routing of 14 kilometres of track. Improvements are also being made to the line’s electrical and communication systems.
As a result of the work, it will be possible to increase the maximum length of the trains using the line from 591 metres to 750 metres, as well as increasing the maximum axle load which the rails are able to take.
A multimodal transport network
The railway covered by the project is part of the comprehensive Trans-European Transport Network and the investment contributes to the development of a multimodal single European transport area. This element is underlined by the efforts made under the initiative to improve rail connections between important seaports in the south of Italy with a view to further developing goods transport links between sea and rail.
Creation of better links between sea and rail transport is fully in line with the strategic priorities of the EU’s transport policy, one of which is aimed at boosting intermodal connections in order to create a more sustainable system. Enhancing the competitiveness of the railways – which are an environmentally friendly means of transport – for transportation of freight, is another way in which the project promotes sustainability.
Moreover, by strengthening connections between Gioia Tauro – which forms part of the core Trans-European Transport Network – and Taranto and Bari, the work also helps to boost rail links between Calabria and the north of Italy, to where the railway heads once it has passed through Apulia.
Completion of works in the second phase
Some of the tasks which began under the first phase of the project will be completed in the second phase. These include upgrades to the section of track between Castiglione Cosentino and Trebisacce and to railway installations at Rocca Imperiale and San Marco Roggiano as well as the modifications to the route of the line at Cassano, Torano and Tarsia. Others are implemented in their entirety under the second phase, such as the railway installations at Amendolara as well as the elimination of the level crossing at Acri and the consequent re-routing of the railway.
The total budget for both phases is in the region of EUR 154.8 million, of which the second phase accounts for approximately EUR 103.7 million. The EU has provided around EUR 74.7 million of funding for phase two.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Potenziamento Metaponto – Sibari – Paola (Bivio S. Antonello): fase prioritaria, II. phase” is EUR 103 695 587, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 74 746 371 through the “Infrastructures and Networks” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.