EU Cohesion Policy: More than €101 million for the upgrade of the Palermo-Catania-Messina railway axis in Sicily, Italy

Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “The EU is investing in increasing competitiveness and quality of life in peripheral regions. Citizens and businesses will benefit from much better train connections, which will be faster and more frequent. This is a crucial investment to boost the attractiveness of Sicily and encourage the use of a more sustainable mode of transport than roads.  It will make Sicily a more accessible and attractive place to live and work. Step by step, we turn the European Green Deal into a reality!”

The investment will build two tunnels, 92.75 m and 34.75m in length, and 17 viaducts to eliminate bends in the tracks that go through hilly and uneven areas. In some parts of the island a second track will be built to allow for simultaneous travel in the two directions.

These investments will significantly reduce travel time and allow for more frequent connections. Some of the land freed up from removing the bends will be turned into bicycle paths.

The project will improve the quality of the railway service and connections to the ports of Catania, Augusta and Palermo, and the airports of Catania and Palermo.

It will also ameliorate the Bicocca railway station in Catania by changing the track layout, building new underpasses and ramps and upgrade the station building.

This important amount of investment is fundamental to strengthen the socio-economic development of Sicily, as it builds a more effective, faster and low-emission means of transportation for citizens and companies.

More details about Cohesion Policy investments in Italy in the Cohesion Open Data Platform and on our Kohesio platform.