Webuild Group has achieved a major breakthrough in the Terzo Valico dei Giovi high-speed rail project, completing 86.5km of tunnels out of over 90km planned, reaching 94 per cent excavation progress.
The milestone came at the challenging Castagnola-Vallemme section of the Valico Tunnel, a key part of this €3.8 billion (AU$6.6 billion) initiative led by Webuild’s Cociv Consortium for Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), with Italferr providing engineering and government oversight via Extraordinary Commissioner Calogero Mauceri.
This 53km high-speed, high-capacity line, featuring 36km of tunnels, traverses 14 municipalities in Genoa and Alexandria provinces across Liguria and Piemonte regions.
Upon full completion, the 27-kilometre Galleria di Valico will become Italy’s longest railway tunnel and the world’s ninth longest, incorporating features like the vast 540 square metre Camerone di Valico Nord cavern.
The project has engaged around 5,000 workers and 2,500 suppliers since construction began in 2012, with recent advances using traditional methods and the 115 metre-long Giovanna Tunnel Boring Machine through complex terrain near Serravalle.
Travel benefits will transform logistics: Genoa-Milan journeys will shrink to 50 minutes from the current 1 hour 39 minutes, while Genoa-Venice will take three hours, five minutes.
As an EU-designated priority in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), it integrates into the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, linking Genoa’s Mediterranean port to Rotterdam’s North Sea hub and shifting freight from roads to rail for environmental gains.
Officials hailed the progress during celebrations tied to Santa Barbara, the patron saint of miners. Italy’s Infrastructure and Transport Deputy Minister 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.”
Extraordinary Commissioner Calogero Mauceri added: “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 50km 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.”
The project builds on prior milestones, like the 2021 Serravalle Tunnel breakthrough and the 2023 activation of an 8.5-kilometre section between Rivalta Scrivia and Tortona, boosting regional connectivity.
Full operations will enhance Genoa’s hub status, separating freight from passenger lines and supporting Europe’s industrial north-south axis.