Ghella, in Joint Venture, wins rail bypass contract in Trento, Italy (Lot 3A)
02-09-2023
8 Februrary 2023 - Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) of state rail operator Gruppo FS Italiane, has awarded the works for the design and construction of the rail bypass (Lot 3A) project in Trento, Italy to Ghella and its Joint Venture partners. The project, approximately 13 kilometres of rail line and nearly all of it underground, is part of a quadrupling of the Fortezza-Verona section of the high-speed railway south of the Brenner Base Tunnel.
The project, identified as strategic for the development of sustainable mobility in Italy and part of the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience, will contribute to improving the international transport of cargo and has a value of 934 million euros. Ghella’s (35%) consortium partners include Webuild (51%), Collini (10%), SELI (4%).
The contract includes the construction of a natural tunnel – the Trento Tunnel of approximately 10.6 kilometres in length – and two short sections above ground alongside the existing line. Four tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) will be deployed to excavate the tunnel, with two working at either end of the projected tunnel. The rate of excavation is to reach between 15 and 20 metres a day, helping accelerate the work.
The bypass – known in Italian as the “Circonvallazione di Trento” – will be part of the southern access to the Brenner Base Tunnel. Ghella is currently working on one of the lots of this tunnel: the Mules 2-3 lot in Italy.