Salerno–Reggio Calabria HS/HC Railway Line | Santomarco Tunnel

The new high-speed railway line along the Salerno–Reggio Calabria corridor will create a strategic passenger and freight transport route between northern and southern Italy. The project will enhance the railway network and significantly increase passenger transport capacity, also improving links with Sicily. Ghella is involved in the design and construction of the section between Battipaglia and Romagnano (Lot 1A) and of the Cosenza–Paola/San Lucido Double-Tracking Project (Santomarco Tunnel). 

Santomarco Tunnel

The works comprise a new double-track high-speed/high-capacity railway line with a total length of approximately 22 km, of which 17 km will run through tunnels and the remaining 5 km on the surface. The Santomarco Tunnel, the project's main structure, will extend for approximately 15.4 km and consist of twin single-track bores located around 100 metres from the existing tunnel, which will be decommissioned once the new works have been completed. The project also includes two large interconnection chambers linking the main tunnel to the San Lucido section. The route will pass through the municipalities of Paola, San Lucido, Rende, Montalto Uffugo, San Vincenzo La Costa and San Fili, in the province of Cosenza. The works include the construction of nine bridges and two railway viaducts. One viaduct, 350 metres long, will cross the A2 Salerno–Reggio Calabria motorway, while a second viaduct, 205 metres 
long, will span the Settimo stream. A new station and associated access roads will also be built near the Cosenza-side portal of the tunnel in the Municipality of Montalto Uffugo, serving both the local area and the University of Calabria, based in Rende.

Benefits:

1. Improved access to the high-speed rail network for strategically important areas such as the Cilento region, the Vallo di Diano, the Ionian coast and the Province of Cosenza.
2. Enhanced connections with the Port of Gioia Tauro, the Reggio Calabria area and Sicily.
3. Infrastructure development and promotion of sustainable mobility in southern Italy.
4. Reduction in travel times between Rome and Reggio Calabria to as little as four hours.
5. Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.