Voltaggio, 21 May 2026
The demolition of the diaphragm wall on the northbound second track of the Castagnola-Vallemme section was completed this morning, marking the completion of one of the most complex excavation sections of the Terzo Valico project. The work was carried out by the General Contractor led by Webuild, on behalf of RFI (FS Italiane Group), with the support of FS Engineering (FS Italiane Group) and under the aegis of the Extraordinary Government Commissioner Calogero Mauceri.
To highlight the significance of the project, the following were present at the Vallemme construction site in the municipality of Voltaggio (AL): the Extraordinary Commissioner Calogero Mauceri, the Councillor for Strategic Infrastructure of the Piedmont Region Enrico Bussalino, the President of the Province of Alessandria Luigi Benzi, representatives of local institutions, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and FS Engineering (FS Group), and the General Contractor led by Webuild, together with engineers and site workers.
The construction of this section, approximately 2.8 kilometres long for each track, took place under particularly challenging geological conditions, partly due to the presence of natural gas. This situation required the use of advanced technological solutions and the implementation of strict operating procedures to ensure the safety of the workforce without interrupting the excavation work.
The work proved to be particularly complex from a geological point of view, especially in the Terzo Valico tunnel between the Vallemme site, in the municipality of Voltaggio (AL), and the Castagnola site, in the municipality of Fraconalto (AL), both located in the heart of the Ligurian Apennines. In this section, a complex organisation of the excavation work was required, with operations carried out simultaneously on four excavation fronts.
To date, tunnelling work on the Terzo Valico dei Giovi project has exceeded 83 kilometres of completed tunnels out of a total of approximately 86.9 kilometres, representing 96% of the tunnelling work required for the entire route.
The Terzo Valico dei Giovi – Genoa Junction Single Project forms part of the Rhine-Alps European Corridor within the TEN-T network, thereby playing a key role in improving connections between the Ligurian port system and northern Italy and central Europe. The project will significantly reduce journey times between Genoa and Milan, shortening them to around one hour, as well as increasing the capacity and reliability of rail transport, particularly for freight traffic.
As part of the Single Project, a series of strategic measures are planned to ensure integration with the existing network: four main interconnections (Voltri, Genoa Bivio Fegino, Novi Ligure and Tortona) to link the new Terzo Valico infrastructure with the existing railway lines. The upgrading of the Genoa railway hub to separate the traffic flows
of long-distance trains from regional ones and improve access to Ligurian ports, thereby strengthening the region’s logistical and commercial role within the national and European context.