The new line is part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Trans-European Transport Network corridor, which is a key hub for the European economy – a 7,527 km line that will connect Norway and Sweden with Southern Italy via Denmark, Germany, and Austria.
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana is the end-customer for the facility, where Italferr manages the work carried out by Webuild through the Hirpinia AV consortium. The construction site will operate 24 hours a day for 5 months: the work continuity will be ensured by employing more than 100 highly specialized people.
The Grottaminarda Tunnel will be 2 km long and become the first of three previously planned tunnels on the 18 km Apice-Hirpinia section, 12 of which are underground. The tunnel will be dug by a mechanical mole with a rotating head 12.5 meters in diameter. The progress of earthworks involves the simultaneous construction of a tunnel lining ring from nine packaged units, each 55 cm thick and 1.80 m long. The works on the section requires an investment of 628 million euros, and the entire Naples-Bari line will cost 5.8 billion euros, funded in part by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, employing 5,000 people and 2,000 contractors. The launch is scheduled for 2027.