Brescia - Treviglio High-Speed Line
Construction of the Brescia - Treviglio High-Speed Line
Trackwork and Traction
The important Brescia – Treviglio HS/HC (High-Speed/High-Capacity) section completed in 2011 the Brescia – Milan high-speed connection (the 27 km Milan–Treviglio section had already been in operation since 2007), representing a further fundamental milestone in the development of the Milan – Venice HS/HC railway link and, more broadly, of the Mediterranean TEN-T Core Corridor, of which it is an integral part. This corridor connects Spain to the Ukrainian border, extending across Italy from Turin to Trieste.
Five years of work and a total investment of €2 billion enabled Cepav Due – Consorzio Eni per l'Alta Velocità – to construct the new line which, as a continuation of the Milan–Treviglio section and partly running alongside the BreBeMi motorway, reaches Brescia Centrale station after crossing 20 municipalities in the provinces of Milan, Bergamo and Brescia.
GCF - Generale Costruzioni Ferroviarie, in joint venture (ATI) with Salcef, carried out the trackwork of the new Brescia–Treviglio line, covering a total of 58.2 km of double-track railway, including 39.6 km of actual HS/HC line, 11.7 km of interconnections at Brescia West and 6.9 km of urban approach tracks.
The entire section has a maximum gradient of 15‰ and runs for 52.2 km on embankments, 4.1 km across 7 bridges and viaducts, nearly 1 km through 5 cut-and-cover tunnels, and 1.1 km in cuttings; 8.6 km are equipped with noise barriers.
Traction is electric, alternating current at 2x25 kV and 50 Hz frequency. The maximum design speed is 300 km/h, reducing travel time between the city of the Lioness (Brescia) and the city of the Madonnina (Milan) to just 30 minutes.
The inaugural Frecciarossa journey took place on 11 December, coinciding with the entry into force of the 2016–2017 winter timetable.
Signalling System
The train separation system uses ERTMS/ETCS Level 2 technology. Railway traffic management and control are handled from the Milan Greco Pirelli Central Control Post through the Command and Control System (SCC), which, in addition to traffic regulation, integrates remote control functions for the railway power supply system (electrical substations and sectioning posts), fixed diagnostics and equipment maintenance, as well as remote monitoring and security.
