The new Bicocca-Catenanuova section has been activated as part of the interventions of the new Palermo-Catania-Messina route, one of the ten strategic projects being implemented by the Italian Railway Network, with technical direction from Italferr (both companies of the FS group), for which Filippo Palazzo has been appointed Government Commissioner.
On the inaugural train, which left today from the Catania Fontanarossa station to reach the newly built section of the railway line between Bicocca and Catenanuova, the CEOs and General Directors Aldo Isi of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and Dario Lo Bosco of Italferr, the Government Commissioner Filippo Palazzo, the President of the Sicilian Region Renato Schifani, the Mayor of Catania Enrico Trantino. Speakers in connection were Matteo Salvini, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport.
Starting from November 2nd, with the resumption of the commercial offer between Catania and Palermo, the direct connection between the two cities will return with a journey duration of 2 hours and 57 minutes, also guaranteeing the connection with the Catania Airport stop.
An important piece of the project for the new Palermo-Catania-Messina route, a work with an economic value of approximately 13 billion euros, also with PNRR funds. The works will guarantee compliance with interoperability requirements and will allow a significant growth in the competitiveness of rail passenger transport, responding to mobility needs in terms of reducing travel times, with benefits in terms of regularity and frequency. The work is included in Cantieri Parlanti, a project created by Gruppo FS and RFI and Italferr in collaboration with the MIT, the Extraordinary Government Commissioner, to transparently describe the activities and benefits of the new infrastructures through public initiatives, info points and a web page dedicated to strategic works.
The works on the new Bicocca-Catenanuova section (lot 6 of the Palermo-Catania) have allowed the construction of a new 38 km double-track line for a total investment of over 600 million euros. On average, over 250 workers worked on the construction site every day, with more than 500 contracting companies involved in carrying out the works with over 170 construction vehicles employed. The new line includes the construction of 17 railway viaducts, 2 artificial tunnels, 8 road overpasses and 5 road underpasses which have allowed the elimination of all 14 existing level crossings to guarantee alternative road traffic that does not interfere with the railway line. The stations of Catania Bicocca, Motta S. Anastasia, Sferro and Catenanuova were also adapted, in line with the doubling of the line.
During the construction of the doubling, all the latest technologies related to railway traffic management were also installed, to guarantee safety, punctuality, reliability and timeliness of maintenance interventions on the line. The Multistation Central Computerized Equipment (ACCM) has been created which allows the command and control of the new railway section via a Multistation Central Station (PCM) located at the Bicocca building where the new Computerized Central Equipment (ACC) and the peripheral stations in the PM Motta, PC Sferro and Catenanuova plants including the ground subsystem – SCMT have been activated, also incorporating the updating of the safety and signaling systems neighboring stations of Catania Acquicella, Lentini Diramazione and Sparagogna. The new section was included in the SCCM (Multi-station Command and Control System) with centralized control of railway circulation managed by the Palermo Central Post.
The project for the new Palermo-Catania line, for a total of 179 km of which approximately 128 km in the tunnel, includes the double track between Bicocca-Catenanuova, already built, and in the Fiumetorto-Lercara Diramazione section and a new fast track between Lercara Diramazione and Catenanuova, in a route variant. On the Catania-Messina line, however, double track work is underway between Giampilieri and Fiumefreddo, for a total length of approximately 42 km. Work is currently underway on all lots of the itinerary.