en.Wedoany.com Reported - The €2.7 billion Florence high-speed railway bypass project has achieved a key construction milestone, with two tunnel boring machines (TBMs), named Iris and Marika, successfully penetrating the partition wall and arriving at the new Belfiore high-speed station hall, completing the "breakthrough" operation. This milestone is considered one of the decisive steps toward realizing this strategic project, which aims to fundamentally transform the railway landscape in Italy and Europe.
At an official event held at the construction site, representatives from the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Tuscany Region, the Municipality and Prefecture of Florence, along with the Italian State Railways Group (Gruppo FS Italiane), Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, FS Engineering, and Infrarail, were present. The current construction contract, valued at approximately €1.1 billion, is being carried out by the Florentia consortium and covers the construction of the bypass tunnel and the new station.
From a technical perspective, the new high-speed railway bypass line's urban section spans approximately 8.35 kilometers, of which 7 kilometers are underground. Two parallel tunnels are being excavated at an average depth of about 20 meters below ground, connecting the northern entrance (between Florence's Castello and Rifredi stations) and the southern entrance (near Campo di Marte). The two TBMs, each starting from the southern Campo di Marte work site, have completed approximately 3 kilometers of excavation, used for the construction of the even and odd line tunnels, respectively.
With the TBMs entering the Belfiore station hall, the project enters a complex phase of mechanical management. The TBMs can only be moved in stages within the underground space after the base slab is poured. Currently, base slab pouring and construction work are progressing in different areas. After completing the movement and maintenance operations, the plan to resume excavation of the remaining 2 kilometers of each tunnel northward is scheduled between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027.
Simultaneously with managing the TBMs, civil structural work on the high-speed station is also underway. This work employs a "top-down" excavation method, proceeding from the ground surface downward. Construction crews are conducting deep excavation of the station hall to reach the final design elevation of -25 meters below ground level. The new high-speed station is located in the Belfiore-Macelli area, approximately at the midpoint of the line.
The architectural and engineering design, jointly developed by Foster & Partners and Ove Arup & Partners, covers an area of approximately 45,000 square meters, creating an underground space about 450 meters long, 50 meters wide, and 25 meters deep below the road surface. Above ground, a steel and glass canopy will rise approximately 18 meters, integrating photovoltaic panels to enhance energy efficiency and serving environmental and noise control functions, while ensuring natural lighting and ventilation for the space below. This station type is a first in Italy; although entirely underground, its vertical configuration allows natural light to penetrate to the lower structural levels.
Upon project completion, long-distance rail traffic will be physically separated from regional and freight flows, thereby improving the operational punctuality of the entire Florence hub. This will free up significant capacity on the surface section between Florence Rifredi and Campo di Marte, as well as at Florence Santa Maria Novella station. This will not only enable rail services to stop at the new Belfiore high-speed station but also reduce the dwell time of high-speed trains currently stopping at Santa Maria Novella station. The facility is integrated into the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), consolidating Florence's central role in the EU's strategic transport corridors. According to the latest schedule, overall project completion is expected by the end of 2029, with railway operations commencing in 2030. The project is part of the "Cantieri Parlanti" (Talking Construction Sites) information initiative, promoted by the FS Group and the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, aimed at ensuring public transparency regarding the progress of major infrastructure projects.
