Webuild has begun mechanized excavation work on three tunnels on Lot 1A, Battipaglia–Romagnano section, on the Salerno–Reggio Calabria high-speed line.
With the start-up of three new tunnel boring machines (TBMs), all four machines planned for the excavation of the eight natural tunnels on Lot 1A are now operational. This section will connect Battipaglia to Romagnano. Following the launch of the Partenope TBM, which is drilling the Saginara tunnel, the other three TBMs – Leucosia, Ligea, and Mireille – have begun work, involving over 300 specialized technicians for their operation and maintenance. With a drilling diameter of 13 meters, these are the three largest underground tunnels (TBMS) operated by Webuild in Europe.
Leucosia has started work on the Serra Lunga tunnel, which will be over 800 meters long, a single tube with a double line. Once the excavation and lining of the walls are complete, the underground tunnel will continue with the Acerra and Petrolla tunnels, separated by linear viaducts. Ligea will excavate the Piano Grasso tunnel, a single-tube double-track tunnel over 2.2 kilometers long, and later the Contursi tunnel.
The Mireille tunnel has also been launched, which, after working on the Grand Paris Express, is now excavating the Caterina tunnel, over one kilometer long. With a cutter diameter of over 10 meters, Mireille is the first TBM reconditioned at the Webuild factory in Terni, a new highly specialized unit dedicated to the reconditioning of underground tunnels (TBMs), created to allow their reuse in new projects, in accordance with the principles of the circular economy. Once the excavation and lining of the Caterina tunnel are complete, Mireille will move on to the Sicignano tunnel.
Lot 1A, awarded to the Xenia Consortium, led by Webuild (with partners Pizzarotti, Ghella, and Tunnel Pro), covers the province of Salerno and involves the construction of 35 kilometers of high-speed railway between Battipaglia and Romagnano, including 20 tunnels and 19 viaducts. Over 1,000 people are employed directly and indirectly. Since the start of the works, approximately 430 direct suppliers have also been involved. On the Salerno–Reggio Calabria line, Webuild recently won the Cosenza–Paola/San Lucido project, which will add over 22 kilometers of track, including the Santomarco tunnel—the main work of the project—with a length of 15 kilometers.
The two lots of the Salerno–Reggio Calabria line are among the many projects that Webuild is executing in southern Italy, with a total value attributed of approximately 15 billion EUR. These projects employ 8,700 people (including direct staff and third parties, as of June 30, 2025) and involve 7,600 direct suppliers since the start of the works.
The Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed line is being built in southern Italy and will contribute to the significant development of national and international rail transport, as part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor of the TEN-T. The implementation of the project is a priority for Italy in order to connect the south of the country with the north and with Europe.
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