New inspection by Tuscany Region President Eugenio Giani at Campo di Marte, where the Iris TBM is digging the first tunnel of the Florence HS. Not just a visit to the construction site, but directly inside the tunnel, 22 meters deep under Florence.

Since excavation began in November 2023, to date Iris has traveled 1,630 meters and is located under Viale Lavagnini, near the Fortezza da Basso’s Swan Lake. To date, the tunnel boring machine carries away 27 millimeters of earth per minute for more than ten meters of excavation per day. Earth that is then led out of the tunnel through the use of a long conveyor belt and then transferred by train to Cavriglia, in the province of Arezzo, where it is used to build an artificial hill to screen the Enel plant.

“I am proud of this public work,” said President Giani, ”It projects us into the future and helps create new horizons for Tuscany. In addition to the “Iris mole, a second cutter that will dig the parallel tunnel will also be ready to go from November alongside it.

The new Florence Belfiore high-speed train station, designed by Foster and Ove Arup Partners, will be built by the Florentia Consortium (of which Impresa Pizzarotti C. S.p.A. is the lead partner flanked by Saipem), RFI Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Italferr S.p.A., INFRARAIL UBOP-SBR and under the supervision of the Environmental Observatory.