Three of the largest ongoing contracts on Italy’s railway network risk being slowed down by administrative litigation. At the heart of the dispute is the issue of price revisions. On one side stands RFI, and on the other, the Webuild group, acting as lead partner—albeit alongside different companies—in each of the three consortia that won the contracts. The dispute concerns the Trento freight rail bypass, the first section of the high-speed line from Salerno to Reggio Calabria, and a stretch of the new Messina-Catania-Palermo route.
The three consortia filed appeals with the Lazio administrative court, which declared itself not competent to judge the matter. However, based on a fine legal distinction (rulings dated 20 May 2025), it directed the case to the relevant regional courts, namely the TARs (Regional Administrative Tribunals) of Trento, Campania and Sicily. These courts will now examine the appeals filed by the Webuild-led consortia. The dispute stems from differing interpretations of the regulations governing price adjustments. In particular, the consortia are challenging a directive issued by the construction management, which RFI entrusted to Italferr, rejecting the sums claimed by the companies.
The stakes are high both financially—although the Lazio court did not quantify them—and operationally, as the works could face inevitable delays, even though they are already behind the original schedule. The initial contract values are significant: over 930 million euros for the Trento freight bypass, more than two billion for the first section of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria line, and nearly 1.8 billion for the Lercara-Caltanissetta Xirbi stretch of the Messina-Catania-Palermo route.
The Trento freight bypass contract was awarded in February 2023 to the Tridentum Consortium, led by Webuild in partnership with Ghella, Collini Lavori and Seli Overseas. The project is one of four priority segments for upgrading the Verona-Fortezza line, which forms the southern access to the Brenner Base Tunnel. It involves the construction of a new 13-kilometre double-track line, with 11 kilometres running through twin-tube tunnels. The new infrastructure begins north of Trento, near Roncafort, and reconnects with the historic line to the south in the Acquaviva area.
The first operational section of the new Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed line was awarded in May 2023 to the Xenia Consortium, which includes Webuild, Ghella, Impresa Pizzarotti and TunnelPro. The works involve constructing a new 35-kilometre high-speed line (18 kilometres of which will be in tunnels) between Battipaglia and Romagnano, where a junction is planned to ensure interconnection with the existing line from Battipaglia towards Potenza and Metaponto.
The third contract affected by the legal challenge is a section of the complete upgrade of the Messina-Catania-Palermo corridor to modern standards. This project was awarded in May 2023 to the Triscelio Consortium, made up of Webuild, Ghella, Impresa Pizzarotti, Seli Overseas and TunnelPro. The work includes the construction of 47 kilometres of new alignment diverging from the historic route, featuring around ten kilometres of viaducts and eight natural tunnels, totalling 21 kilometres.
Piermario Curti Sacchi
