This morning Partenope fired up its engines and is ready to start excavation of the Saginara Tunnel on Lot 1A Battipaglia-Romagnano, the construction of which is entrusted to the Xenia Consortium of which Impresa Pizzarotti is a member together with Webuild, Ghella and Tunnel Pro, on behalf of RFI (Italian FS Group) and under the supervision of Italferr.

The TBM, whose name Partenope was chosen through a contest that called together all citizens and whose name is a reference to the mythological siren who founded Naples, is one of the largest in Europe: with a milling head over 13 metres in diameter, a length of 130 metres, a weight of 4. 000 tonnes and 18 engines to operate it, it will be engaged in the excavation of 3 kilometres of the Saginara tunnel, between the municipalities of Campagna and Contursi Terme (SA), working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, employing over 100 highly specialised people.

On the first part of the Battipaglia-Romagnano lot of the high-speed line, a total of four mechanical moles will be operating for the construction of eight natural tunnels to be excavated mechanically.

The new HS/HC line, subdivided into functional lots and also financed with PNRR funds, constitutes the continuity of a strategic route for connecting North and South and is an integral part of the European TEN-T Scandinavia-Mediterranean railway corridor. The project, which is one of the strategic works of the Cantieri Parlanti (Talking Shipyards) project, will make it possible to increase the levels of accessibility to the HS system for several areas of high territorial value. It is a first and significant step towards the creation of a modern and sustainable infrastructure system, capable of meeting the mobility needs of a large interregional basin.