Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (FS Italiane Group) has awarded the works for the construction of a bypass and high-speed rail station in Florence, Italy. The contract has been given to a consortium led by Impresa Pizzarotti & C. of Parma and Saipem. The project is worth more than one billion euros.
The work is highly anticipated by the territory and regarded as strategic for the FS and RFI Groups. Consequently, it will enable a new configuration of the Florentine railway network. This will lead to splitting the flows of high-speed trains from those of regional services.
According to the railways, the decision will have positive effects both on the regularity of the service and on its enhancement, in terms of frequency and number of journeys.
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Design for the bypass and high-speed rail station in Florence
The bypass of the new high-speed/high-capacity line extends for about seven kilometers underground. Furthermore, it has two parallel tunnels at an average depth of about 20 meters.
It is also completed with two terminal sections on the surface: to the north between the stations of Firenze Castello and Firenze Rifredi, and to the south near the Florence Campo di Marte station. Tunnels will be excavated using mechanized techniques and a tunnel-boring machine.
The new Firenze Belfiore high-speed/ac station is designed by the Foster architecture firm and the engineering firm Ove Arup and partners. It will be built along the underground route.
The station, which will be served by high-speed trains, will be linked to the Santa Maria Novella station. It will also be linked with the entire urban area via various modes of transportation. These include a new people-mover that will run between the new station and Santa Maria Novella. It will also be served by two existing city trams, and a new surface railway stop called Circondaria.
