Webuild: first of three viaducts of 2,500 tonnes installed on Naples-Cancello section of Naples-Bari High-Speed Railway

Strategic sustainable mobility project for southern Italy: Naples-Bari travel time cut in half to just two hours, and six hours for Milan-Bari

600 people working directly and indirectly on Naples-Cancello, Apice-Hirpinia sections

About 300 businesses from local supply chain contributing to Naples-Cancello section

NAPLES, March 29, 2021 - Webuild has reached a milestone on the high-speed railway between Naples and Bari under construction in southern Italy for Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (Gruppo FS Italiane). In the town of Acerra near Naples, it installed over a road the first of three arch bridges planned for the Naples-Cancello section designed by Italferr (Gruppo FS Italiane). It performed the operation with minimal disruption to traffic by using the latest in heavy transport equipment.

The Naples-Bari line will become a strategic link for the development of sustainable mobility in the region. It will reduce by about half the travel time between Naples and Bari to just two hours. It will also bring northern and southern Italy closer together, making the time to travel between Milan and Bari at six hours. The construction of the line is supporting the economy and creating jobs in the region. The two sections being built by the Group - Naples-Cancello and Apice-Hirpinia - has 600 people working on it and their number is to increase to 930 by 2022. There is also a long supply chain, with about 300 businesses working on the Naples-Cancello section, 183 of them located in southern Italy.
Much like the other two that will be installed in the coming months, the recently installed bridge is about 80 metres long, 21 metres high and weighs 2,500 tonnes. After a series of preparatory work, the bridge was moved in place during a 10-hour operation by 18 special trailers that distributed its weight along 104 wheeled axes. The bridge was then lifted about 6 metres above ground by strand jacks.

The Naples-Cancello section is strategic for the railway because it will include a new station in the town of Napoli-Afragola. Built by Astaldi of Webuild Group, it will serve as an interchange with regional trains. About 15.5 kilometres long, the section will pass through towns like Casoria, Casalnuovo, Afragola, Caivano and Acerra. The second section of the Naples-Bari line will run for 18 kilometres between Apice and Hirpinia, crossing the Apennine. This section will include a station at Hirpinia and three natural tunnels and four viaducts.