Catania, 25 March 2019

Work has begun on the construction of the new Palermo-Catania railway line, a link that will revolutionize the development of mobility in Sicily.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Danilo Toninelli, Regional Councilor for Infrastructures Marco Falcone, the Mayor of Catenanuova Carmelo Giancarlo Scravaglieri and the Managing Director of Italian Railway Network and Commissioner for the Palermo-Catania-Messina route Maurizio Gentile.

The new fast connection will make it possible to reduce travel times between the two cities and ensure greater track capacity, thus improving the Sicilian travel experience, with benefits for the entire transport system and the environment .

The new Palermo-Catania line, an integral part of the European TEN-T Scandinavia-Mediterranean railway corridor, is one of the measures planned to improve mobility in Sicily. In fact, the investment plan of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, a company of the FS Italiane Group, amounts to a total of 13 billion euro for the construction of new infrastructures and the technological upgrading of the existing network.

The project to double the Bicocca-Catenanuova track is worth 415 million euros. The activation of a first track is expected in 2021 while the intervention on both tracks will end in 2023, concluding the first functional phase of the new fast rail link between Palermo and Catania.

At the end of the work along the Palermo-Catania axis it will be possible to go from Palermo to Catania in less than two hours. Reductions in progressive travel times are in any case already foreseen before this date, thanks to the activation of the new sections of line by phases. The economic investment for the entire Palermo – Catania – Messina axis is around 8 billion euros.

Furthermore, the planned interventions will allow trains to travel at a maximum speed of 250 km / h, improving the standards of regularity and punctuality of rail traffic.

Furthermore, important and significant interventions for infrastructure upgrading and technological upgrading along the entire railway network are planned, along with the elimination of some level crossings and redevelopment interventions in the stations.

Source: http://www.fsnews.it/fsn/Gruppo-FS-Italiane/RFI-al-via-lavori-raddoppio-ferroviario-Bicocca-Catenanuova