With the breakthrough of the final rock face, excavation work on the tunnels for the Novi Ligure rail interconnection—part of the Novi Ligure (Terzo Valico) line, which is essential for the new high-capacity Genoa–Milan line—has been completed. This milestone marks an important moment in the Terzo Valico dei Giovi project, designed to overcome the limitations of the existing historical infrastructure.
The result is the fruit of close collaboration between the regions of Liguria and Piedmont and the FS Group (Italian Railways), demonstrating the continuity of major strategic projects for Italy. Excavation work has advanced simultaneously on four fronts, confirming the complexity and intensity of the construction site.
The infrastructure, considered strategic for connecting the Ligurian ports with the industrial north of the country, has reached approximately 96% of the total excavation work along an 87.7 km route. All work fronts are active, despite the difficult geological conditions encountered, including the presence of gas and asbestos, which have been overcome with the help of advanced technologies.
The infrastructure extends from the Serravalle tunnel through two new single-track tunnels, for a total length of 1.7 km. The two tunnels branch underground until they reach the historic line near the town of Novi Ligure, allowing both passenger and freight trains to pass through Turin and back without interfering with urban traffic or existing rail traffic.
Work is proceeding according to schedule. A new breakthrough is planned by mid-May in the tunnel section between Vallemme and Castagnola, marking further progress toward project completion.
Approximately 1.3 km remains to be excavated out of a total of over 87 km—essentially the final section of the Terzo Valico dei Giovi project.
Excavation is expected to be completed by the end of the year or early January, followed by the technical outfitting, system installation, testing, and commissioning phases.
In parallel, work continues on the Genoa Railway Junction and the Milan–Genoa corridor, with total investments exceeding EUR 13.5 billion.
The Novi Ligure Line as part of the Terzo Valico Project
The Novi Ligure Line is a section and a technical hub of the Terzo Valico dei Giovi railway project. The new railway interconnection in Novi Ligure aims to strengthen connections between Liguria and Piedmont, significantly improving freight and passenger flows.
This interconnection is a key element of the overall Terzo Valico project, carried out by Webuild on behalf of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), with the support of the engineering firm FS Engineering, both companies of the FS Italiane Group.
The Terzo Valico dei Giovi railway project, together with the works at the Genoa railway hub and the modernization of the Milan–Genoa corridor, constitutes a single railway system, and is designed to overcome the infrastructure limitations of the historic Giovi line between the Port of Genoa and the Northwest, improving the efficiency and capacity of rail connections between Liguria and Piedmont.
Terzo Valico dei Giovi is the new high-capacity railway line connecting the Genoa area to the northern rail network (toward Milan and Turin), and the Genoa Railway Hub
is the set of works in the urban and port area of Genoa that reorganizes freight and passenger train flows and separates local traffic from long-distance traffic
The new high-capacity Milan–Genoa line is largely an underground route. Starting from Genoa, the first section, the so-called Valico Tunnel, runs 27 km underground, making it the longest underground railway line in Italy. In fact, when the network’s secondary connections are taken into account, the project involves the construction of approximately 90 km of tunnels.
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