Italy's 53 km Genoa–Milan high-capacity railway postponed to 2029

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Calogero Mauceri, Special Commissioner for Italy's Terzo Valico dei Giovi project, has announced the latest construction timetable, with the 53 km Genoa–Milan high-speed/high-capacity railway now planned to enter operation in 2029. Less than 1 km of tunneling remains to be excavated, with tunnel works scheduled for completion in spring 2027, and track, power supply, signaling and other railway systems to be installed in a concentrated effort in 2028.

The project has a total length of 53 km, of which approximately 37 km is in tunnel. It is being built by the Cociv consortium led by Webuild, with RFI, the Italian railway infrastructure manager, as the client. The works form part of the integrated Terzo Valico dei Giovi–Genoa Junction project, connecting the Genoa port system with the railway network of northern Italy.

Tunnel construction is mainly concentrated in the Castagnola area. About 240 m of single-track tunnel remains to be completed in the Castagnola–Cravasco section, and about 640 m remains in the Castagnola–Val Lemme section. Construction in the latter section has been affected by underground natural gas and complex geological conditions, with excavation progress falling behind the original schedule.

In 2026, several underground engineering milestones have been completed. On April 27, the final diaphragm breakthrough was achieved in the Novi Ligure railway connection tunnel, which will connect the new high-capacity railway to the existing Genoa–Turin railway; on June 23, excavation was completed on the approximately 2 km long Polcevera ventilation tunnel.

The core Valico tunnel of the Terzo Valico dei Giovi uses a twin-bore configuration, with each line approximately 27 km long. Webuild previously disclosed that, as of the end of 2025, about 86.5 km of excavation had been completed for the main underground works, accounting for approximately 94% of the planned underground works.

The project has a total investment of approximately EUR 8.5 billion and is included in the scope of support under Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. This update adjusts the overall operational timeline to 2029, with the current construction focus on excavation of the final tunnel section and the subsequent installation of railway systems.