By rosebell
In order to advancing the digging process of the second tunnel for Florence’s high-speed railway bypass the Florence AV Passante, the Marika tunnel boring machine (TBM), which was launched in an event at the Campo di Marte construction site, has been prepared by Italian railway infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI).
Stretching from Campo di Marte to Rifredi, the Florence AV Passante project includes the construction of the new Belfiore high-speed station as well as two single-track tunnels approximately 20m underground and presenting an 8.35km route for high-speed trains is the project’s advantage.
With 1,500 tonnes weigth, 112m length and a 9.4m excavation diameter, the Marika TBM was named through a public online contest.
Corporating with another TBM, Iris, which was activated last year and has already excavated almost 1.8km along the Campo di Marte-Belfiore route, Marika TBM is equipped with more than 4,500kW of power.
Following that the Iris TBM reaches Fortezza da Basso, Marika TBM is due to commence work on the second tunnel, with excavation set to start by this month. With the aim of preventing concurrent tunneling, the two machines are goin to operate in alternate schedules.
Considering that new high-speed bypass is set to boost Florence’s railway system, it is going to divert high-speed train traffic from the surface lines, and enable better frequency and reliability of regional services.
While benefiting local residents, businesses, and the tourism sector, the improvements are anticipated to support increased use of surface railways.
Additionally, the reconfiguration will also ensure that high-speed and regional trains run independently, boosting capacity for local journeys.
As part of the FS Group’s Cantieri Parlanti project, the Florence AV Passante is an initiative developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT) to provide the public with transparent updates on strategic infrastructure developments.
The responsibility of overseeing this project is up to Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, whereas Italferr managing its execution and the Florentia consortium, composed of Pizzarotti and Saipem, is responsible for the construction works.
