The second phase of a project to improve rail connections between the city centre of Catanzaro – capital of the province of the same name and of the southern Italian region of Calabria – and the district of Germaneto, on the western outskirts of the city has been launched with EU funding.
- 20 December 2017
The second phase of the project is also divided into two separate parts. The first part entails construction of a railway between Catanzaro Sala station and the main Catanzaro station at Germaneto, where the campus of the university of Catanzaro, the new Calabrian regional administrative headquarters and a new hospital are located.
The second part involves the rebuilding of the railway line between Catanzaro Sala and Catanzaro Lido, where it interchanges with the standard gauge railway to Germaneto, and the adaptation of Catanzaro station to cater for metro trains.
Laying of new railway and upgrades to existing track
Phase one of the project essentially covered the design element of the work, with the actual construction to be carried out entirely in phase two. A total of 6.25 kilometres of new railway line is being built and a further 8.34 kilometres of existing railway is being reconstructed under the project. The lines will serve a local population of in the region of 93 000 inhabitants.
Over both phases, the total budget for the project stands at EUR 145 million, of which around EUR 106.5 million is provided for the second phase via the EU’s European Regional Development Fund. The work is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2020.
The project fosters the development of a modern transport network in the south of Italy. By investing in an environmentally friendly means of transport such as the railways, it contributes to making mobility more sustainable and supports the shift towards a low-carbon economy in all sectors. It will thus help to ensure cleaner air and a better quality of life in the area, as well as making it easier for local people to get around Catanzaro.
Better transport links with important public facilities
Calabria is a region with close to 2 million inhabitants and an area of over 15 000 square kilometres. Its size and importance underlines the need to ensure good public transport connections with the new regional administrative centre.
Founded in 1998, the University of Catanzaro (Università degli Studi Magna Græcia di Catanzaro) is one of Calabria’s three public universities and the second largest in terms of numbers of students. It moved its campus to Germaneto in 2006, where it occupies a 170-hectare site.
The main Catanzaro railway station at Germaneto was opened in 2008, replacing the old station in the Sala district of the city. It has three platforms and lies on the line between Catanzaro Lido and Lamezia Terme, a city of 70 000 people in the province of Catanzaro around 30 kilometres to the west.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Rail connection between Catanzaro City and Germaneto, II. phase” is EUR 142 004 338, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 106 503 254 through the “Calabria” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.