The Tyrrhenian railway line between Battipaglia and Reggio Calabria in Italy is undergoing upgrades to improve and modernise the network, under this EU-funded project. The changes involve reconstructing the Petrace bridge, installing centralised traffic control, and redesigning the Gioia Tauro station.
Centralised traffic control, bridge, station upgrade improves Tyrrhenian railway line in Italy
- 29 January 2020
Three projects are part of a macro-project to upgrade the Tyrrhenian railway line Battipaglia-Reggio Calabria. All the projects aim to increase the reliability of the infrastructure, both as works of art and as technological systems. The interventions envisage the adaptation of the line to the most recent operating standards, and to increase the services offered.
This work forms part of a bigger infrastructure project for the Battipaglia and Reggio Calabria main line on the Tyrrhenian railway network. The upgrades will improve both the reliability of the infrastructure, and streamline the technology used to run the network. It will bring the railway in line with modern operating standards and increase the network’s performance.
The reconstruction of the bridge crossing the Petrace River and changes being made to the southern side of the Gioua Tauro station have led to the creation of many jobs. The addition of centralised traffic control will speed up service on the line.
Eliminating bottlenecks
The Battipaglia-Reggio Calabria line forms part of the Scandinavian and Mediterranean rail corridor, a major part of the trans-European transport route. There has been considerable disparity in the quality and availability of infrastructure on this railway network. This has created bottlenecks between those parts of the line in more developed regions and those in less developed ones.
The limited capacity of the network for the Battipaglia-Reggio Calabria line has reduced commercial speeds for freight transport and made it impossible for some heavily-loaded railway carriages to run on the line. The reconstruction of the Petrace bridge and the Gioua Tauro station will allow these types of vehicles to pass through.
Improving railway traffic
This section of the 393 km Tyrrhenian railway line is the main north-south connection in the country. It connects Sicily and Calabria to the rest of the Italian peninsula. The improvements made to this part of the network will give the southern Italian regions it connects with numerous advantages: rail traffic will be improved, and transport times reduced. The project aims to raise the standard of its transport services. Technical systems such as the centralised traffic control will allow more efficient modal interchanges.
A total of 1 634 people were employed during the construction phase.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Upgrading of the Tyrrhenian railway line Battipaglia-Reggio Calabria: reconstruction of the Petrace bridge, change to the development plan pf the Gioia Tauro station and inclusion of the centralized traffic control (CTC)” is EUR 19 569 055, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 14 676 791 through the “Infrastructures and Networks 2014-2020” Operational Programme for the 2014-2018 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Transport and energy networks”.