RFI is fast-tracking the enhancement and modernization plans for the railway infrastructures serving the ports of Genoa and Vado Ligure. The first project focuses on upgrading the Fuori Muro Yard in the port basin of Genoa Sampierdarena. The bureaucratic process was swift, with RFI successfully concluding the service conference with all favorable opinions on the project in July 2023. The call for bids was promptly initiated, with the analysis of offers scheduled for November 2023. By mid-June 2024, the final contract was awarded. The awarded work amounts to just over 30 million euros, part of the total 74.6 million euros investment approved for the Genoese yard in the service conference. This project is co-financed by the European Union within the Cef Transport project.
The current freight yard, consisting of a greater number of tracks—nine to be precise—has become outdated according to modern standards. It will be updated with the installation of seven 750-meter-long circulation tracks, suitable for handling full trains in the European module. In addition to the new yard, the signaling system will be renewed and centralized with a new computerized system that will control the entire yard and maneuvers with automated management, alongside the installation of new electric traction systems, while maintaining existing connections to the port docks.
RFI claims that the planned interventions in the Fuori Muro Yard will be scheduled to ensure continuous operationality of the yard, which is not an easy task given the schedule of closures and diversions for freight trains affecting the Genoese node throughout the summer of 2024 until September. The most significant obstacle is the interruption of the connection known as the Sommergibile line, which will halt the entire port complex of Sampierdarena for a projected duration of seven weeks.
Simultaneously with the awarding of the contract for Genoa Sampierdarena-Fuori Muro, RFI has also awarded the work for the adaptation of the Vado Ligure Industrial Zone plant, with an investment of over 33 million euros. This is the second phase of enhancement for the Savona plant, focusing on railway infrastructure, while the first phase, already underway, primarily addresses road infrastructure with the elimination of a level crossing.
In Vado, various works are planned for both railway equipment and signaling systems. Specifically, the third track will be adapted to the standard 750-meter module. Simultaneously, all six tracks of the station will be electrified and centralized. Notably, the module adaptation concerns only one track due to space constraints.
A new building will also be constructed to house the central computerized system that governs the entire facility, along with electrical cabins serving structures designated for railway and maneuvering companies operating in the plant. All signaling systems of the new yard will be updated. The facility will also be equipped for handling hazardous materials. Concurrently, some connections such as those of Bombardier and Vernazza (formerly Tirreno Power) will be modified, while the connections to the port and Esso/Infineum Italia will be made independent.
By Piermario Curti Sacchi
