Palermo Railway Bypass

KEY FACTS

Services:
• Construction Supervision
• Technical Assistance

Location:
Palermo, Sicily

Client:
Italferr spa

Contract Authority:
Nodo Palermo s.c.p.a.

Completion Date:
On going

Characteristics:
• total length 30 Km
• 7 artificial tunnels totaling 10 Km
• 4 naturals tunnels totaling 5 Km
• 2 bridges totaling 0.7 Km
• 20 stations

This infrastructure located in Palermo is included in the project for doubling the Palermo - Messina railway and it represents the closure of the Scandinavian - Mediterranean Corridor denominated “TEN-T”. It represents the largest and most complex public work of urban development started in the Region of Sicily, and once completed, and it will transform the existing railway line into an underground railway line. The project consists of doubling 30 km of railway line, of which approximately 7.5 km are tunnels, longitudinally crossing the entire Palermo City and encountering both historical and modern, highly-populated residential areas.

 

The railway section linking Palermo Centrale/Brancaccio Station to Carini Station is 30 km-long and includes the new construction and upgrade of 20 stations, viaducts, tunnels, overpasses, track-works, cuttings, embankments, drainage systems, deflection wall and all MEP and system equipment. The 7.5 km-long tunnel running in the historic center of Palermo and in Capaci area is mainly realized through C&C method, while 1.2 km are realized through mechanized excavation. An approximately 50 m-long viaduct will be built over Oreto River together with a number of overpasses and underpasses along the line to replace numerous existing railway crossings. Technological improvements include a new permanent railway with anti-vibration system in the tunnel, OHW, LV-HV electric system, signaling, supervision and communication systems, MEP equipment for tunnel and underground stations. All works are executed during railway operation.

The line is divided into three functional sections:

 

• • Section A, 7 km long, from Palermo to Notarbartolo Station.
• • Section B, 7 km long, from Notarbartolo Station to S. Lorenzo Colli Station.
• • Section C, 16 km long, from S.Lorenzo Colli Station to Carini Station.

 

Section A has been partially built for approximately 3.5 km in compliance with the existing single track railway, converting the railway alignment from embankment to cut-and-cover sections; the doubling of the remaining 3.5 km has been carried out by upgrading the existing track and adding a new track with cut-and-cover tunnels and two natural tunnels. The initial 3.5 km of Section B will be executed by upgrading the existing track and adding a new track using a natural tunnel; the remaining 3.5 km of the existing railway will be upgraded by using artificial galleries. Section C has been carried out by doubling the existing track with cut-and-cover sections for a total length of about 8 km; the remaining 8 km outside of urban context have been transformed from embankments into above-ground structures.