By rosebell
With the aim of naming the two TBMs that are going to start work on Lot 1A of Italy’s Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed railway, a competition has been commissioned by Xenia Consortium.
The deadline for public to vote for one of two pairs of names, Leucosia and Ligea, inspired by the sirens of Greek mythology who were said to have lived in the Salerno Bay; or Elvira and Olga, a tribute to two prominent Salerno-born artists, Elvira Notari, Italy’s first female film director, and Olga Schiavo, a painter and ceramist, is November 7.
The responsibility of guiding Xenia Consortium is up to Webuild with partners Pizzarotti, Ghella, and Tunnel Pro, on behalf of RFI (FS Italiane Group). On November 12, the winning TBM names are due to be announced on Webuild’s social media channels.
Being launched in February on the Saginara tunnel, TBM Partenope and these two TBMs with a cutterhead diameter of 13.46m, are the largest Webuild and Ghella have deployed in Europe.
Following digging more than 800m-long Serra Lunga tunnel, one of the new TBMs will continue with the 250m-long Acerra tunnel and the Petrolla tunnel, which will be more than 1.2km, whereas excavation of Piano Grasso tunnel with over than 2.2km length will be up to the other machine, followed by the Contursi tunnel, which will be over 1.5km.
Including 35km of rail between the cities of Battipaglia and Romagnano, Lot 1A of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed railway comprises 20 tunnels and 19 viaducts, while eight of them are slated to be excavated using four TBMs.
