Webuild has been awarded a high-capacity railway contract in Sicily worth 1.003 billion euros. The contract is for doubling the railway line between Messina and Catania.
The lot in question is along the Giampilieri-Fiumefreddo section – the Second Functional Taormina-Giampilieri Lot. The contract was awarded by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and will be led by Webuild in a consortium in which it will have a 70-percent stake. The other consortium partner will be Pizzarotti.
The consortium will build a new 28.3km railway line, including the civil and associated works like electrification, signalling and communications. The contract will also involve excavating two natural single tunnels, six parallel tunnels and building seven viaducts.
The lot in question will form part of a new line between the Sicilian cities of Messina and Catania which will connect to the existing one before Fiumfreddo station and reconnect to it at Giampilieri station. The majority of the line will run in tunnels and be located further from the coast than the existing line.
The Taormina-Giampilieri lot will be part of a new line between Messina and Catania that will join the existing one ahead of the Fiumfreddo station, then reconnect to it at the Giampilieri station. Most of the line will be through tunnels and further away from the coast than the existing line. The project will include a hub at Fiumefreddo, a new underground station at Taormina and five above-ground stops. Letojanni station will stay.
Webuild is also working on the Bicocca-Catenanuova section of the Palermo-Catania railway. Both the Messina-Catania railway and the Palermo-Catania lines are part of the European Union’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) to connect and improve Europe’s railway network.
