Rocchetta - Potenza, construction sites in operation

Electrification of the northern section initiated

Construction sites have been opened on the Rocchetta - Potenza line, the final section of the railway connecting Foggia to the capital of Basilicata, for the electrification of the entire single-track line that stretches 69 kilometers from the border with Puglia to the heart of Lucania, crossing the Vulture.

The continuous service interruption implemented by RFI in recent weeks (transport is provided by a replacement bus service) has allowed GCF S.p.A. and its partner Ceprini Costruzioni S.r.l. to complete the site preparation works at the stations that will serve as logistical bases for the equipment and materials used in the coming months, and to concretely start the works on the northern section, the first 16-kilometer segment between Rocchetta Sant'Antonio-Lacedonia and Melfi.

"Starting from Rocchetta - explains engineer Paolo Lopez, Head of Railway Systems Engineering at GCF - excavation and casting of the foundation blocks have begun. Some are already visible, on which the steel support plates will be mounted, and the support poles, equipped with brackets, will support the electric traction line."

Many specific features of the railway line, dating back to the late 19th century, required particularly complex technological and operational choices and solutions during the design phase. Starting with the presence of numerous tunnels: 38 in total, extending for almost 17 kilometers, about a quarter of the entire railway route.

Designed and built for steam traction, they now need to be adapted to accommodate the technological installations of the contact line. "To obtain the necessary electrical clearances - explains engineer Lopez - between the tunnel vault and the technological installations of the TE line, we will proceed, depending on the case, in three distinct ways. For some tunnels, which are higher, we will operate with niche carving: chiseling specific areas of the vault will create the necessary electrical clearances for the elements that make up the newly installed suspensions, such as the mooring insulator."

For a second group of tunnels, it will be possible to recover the necessary centimeters by intervening on the ballast and thus gaining the useful space for the intervention. Finally, for a third group of tunnels characterized by an extremely reduced section, it will be necessary to carry out a more substantial intervention to lower the inverted arch. "Two of these - continues Paolo Lopez - are in the section currently under construction. To obtain the necessary spaces and the canonical distances to ensure insulation from the 3000V, Ceprini is lowering the base plan of the tunnel on which we will rebuild the ballast and the track."

Another specific feature of the line is the presence of historic viaducts, made of masonry, which required careful preliminary evaluation of the arches' resistance in order to now proceed with the construction of the TE pole anchoring works. "In this case, we opted for arch supports - clarifies engineer Lopez - more suitable for preserving the aesthetic integrity of the structure. They will be placed at the pillars to exploit the maximum mechanical resistance offered by the pillars themselves."

Meanwhile, south of Melfi, at the Rionero in Vulture station, localized demining work has begun, a preliminary operation to the construction of one of the two electrical substations planned by the project (the other will be located in Pietragalla).

The electrification construction site will advance from north to south in successive sections until it reaches Potenza. Among the planned works are two TE cabins at Rocchetta Sant'Antonio Lacedonia and Potenza Centrale (with construction of the related civil works by Ceprini Costruzioni), the construction along the entire length of the line of an underground cable backbone with the laying of fiber optic and copper cables, modifications to the signaling system to harmonize it with the new TE supports, and the refurbishment, at Forenza station, of the LFM (Light and Power) systems serving, among other things, the platforms and sidewalks.

At the end of the works, specific so-called "mitigation and restoration" operations of the component will also be carried out to restore the landscape integrity in the areas affected by new construction, through the planting and installation of a variety of "native tree species" suitable for harmonious integration into the local flora.

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