Palermo-Catania-Messina railway, the Taormina-Corriere.it construction site is underway

Work has begun on the Taormina-Fiumefreddo section inside the Catania-Messina, which in turn is an integral part of the new upgraded Palermo-Catania-Messina railway line. A project with a total value of 11 billion euros also financed with Pnrr fundswhich is part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor, considered a priority in the European TEN-T (Trans European Network-Transport) strategy.

Technological upgrade

The Taormina construction site, inaugurated at the same time as the “Cantieri Parlanti” event – conceived by the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group and various partners and companies involved in the works – is part of a broader project to speed up and enhance technology and will allow construction of a 43 km double track layoutwhich for the most part will run underground and will connect the stations of Giampilieri (province of Messina) and Fiumefreddo (Metropolitan city of Catania).

The investment required exceeds 2.2 billion and the estimated years of work are approximately six: the section will be “completed in 2029 and made operational by 2030”, assured the managing director of the FS Italiane Group, Luigi Ferraris, at the start of the works. “This infrastructural upgrade will determine a significant strategic growth turning point for the social and economic fabric of the territory and for the entire mobility of Sicily”.

I work for over 7,000 people

Also present at the inauguration were Matteo Salvini, Minister of Infrastructures and Transport, Renato Schifani, President of the Sicily Region, Filippo Palazzo, extraordinary commissioner of the work and Pietro Salini, CEO of Webuild. The interventions will allow, this is the objective, to increase freight traffic and improve the mobility of travellers, reducing travel times between Messina and Catania by 30 minutes.

The overall upgrading of the Palermo-Catania-Messina line was carried out on behalf of the Italian railway network, with the support of the Italferr engineering company and under the patronage of the extraordinary government commissioner. A project that will employ more than 7,000 workers, including workers, technicians and engineers. “We will be vigilant about respecting the times – declared the president Schifani – because we are still paying for the wounds of too many years of neglect”.