Italian railways infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) selected Webuild as leader of a consortium with a 51% stake and with Implenia as partner. The €1.07bn (US$1.29bn) high-capacity railway contract includes the construction of a 22km-long twin-tube main tunnel and a 3km-long twin-tube secondary tunnel to connect the new main line to the existing railway network.
Forming a southern continuation of the 64km-long Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT), the Fortezza-Ponte Gardena line – which is hoped to become operational at around the same time as the BBT is inaugurated – strengthens the Verona-Munich axis as part of the TEN-T Scandinavia-Mediterranean European railway freight corridor.
As a high capacity line, the Fortezza-Ponte Gardena would also improve the Munich-Verona line by adopting standards that exceed the speed and performance limits of the existing line, which currently requires trains to travel at relatively slower speeds, especially on inclines. The project also includes underground interconnections and other works at Ponte Gardena.
