Wedoany.com Report-Dec.9, Webuild Group has announced the completion of 86.5 km of tunnelling on the Terzo Valico dei Giovi high-speed rail project, representing 94% of the total planned excavation exceeding 90 km. The latest breakthrough was achieved in the Castagnola-Val Lemme section of the Valico Tunnel.

The project involves approximately 5,000 personnel and more than 2,500 suppliers.

The project is being delivered by a consortium led by Webuild for Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), with design by Italferr and supervision by the Italian Government's Extraordinary Commissioner.

Italy's Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Edoardo Rixi, stated: "We celebrate the tenacity and expertise of thousands of workers. This breakthrough shows how every effort, when well guided, can overcome any obstacle. The Terzo Valico is not just a tunnel – it is the future of the Port of Genoa and logistics in Northern Italy. This is the project that will connect Italy with Europe in a structural way."

The new 53-km high-capacity railway will include 36 km of twin-tube tunnels and serve 14 municipalities across the provinces of Genoa and Alessandria in the Liguria and Piemonte regions. Upon completion, the 27-km Galleria di Valico will become Italy's longest rail tunnel and the ninth-longest globally.

Travel time between Genoa and Milan is expected to fall from 1 hour 39 minutes to just 50 minutes, while the Genoa–Venice journey will be reduced to 3 hours and 5 minutes.

Since construction began, the project has engaged around 5,000 direct workers and more than 2,500 supplier companies.

The Terzo Valico dei Giovi forms a core segment of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor within the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), linking the Mediterranean port of Genoa with Rotterdam and the North Sea.

Italian Government Extraordinary Commissioner for the project, Calogero Mauceri, commented: "The Terzo Valico is an infrastructure that speaks to the country's future. It will connect regions, local economies, and communities as part of a vision that is entirely European. Surpassing 50 km of excavation in the Valico Tunnel confirms the solidity of a process we are leading with institutional rigour in collaboration with a unique system of expertise."

With excavation now substantially complete, focus shifts to track laying, electrification, signalling and station works, paving the way for full commissioning of this strategic European rail connection.