Alpiq EnerTrans S.p.A., the Italian railway and public transport infrastructure specialist, plays a major role in the development of the High-Speed network in Italy. As the technology partner in the Saturno Consortium, it is responsible for the design and construction of more than 600 kilometers of High Speed Railway Lines.
The new Treviglio-Brescia line is 58.2 kilometres long in total, 39.6 kilometres of which make up the actual high-speed section (High Speed/High Capacity = HS/HC). It passes through 20 municipalities in the provinces Milan, Bergamo and Brescia and was built alongside the existing, conventional route. The new HS/HC line constitutes a strategic infrastructure for Lombardy and the entire country not least because of the high volume of traffic on the old route in this region. Furthermore, the new connection is an integral part of the trans-European Mediterranean corridor TEN-T number 3 and an important milestone in its realisation.
The construction of the route, which was entrusted to the General Contractor Cepav Due lasted five years and it costed EUR 2 billion in total. The Saturno Consortium, which consists of top rail technology players (Alpiq, Ansaldo, Alstom and Sirti), supplied all the electric rail system for the new route as a turnkey solution. The contract value amounts to a total of approximately EUR 180 million.
Within the Saturno Consortium, Alpiq EnerTrans S.p.A. was the lead company for the technologies High Voltage Transmission Lines (overhead lines and cabling) and the 2×25 kV AC Contact Line system. Furthermore, the company was instrumental in the realisation of the transformer stations, the medium-voltage supply stations and SCADA system. Contract share of Alpiq EnerTrans S.p.A. amounted to about EUR 34 million.
The services supplied by the Italian Company boast a few highly innovative features: the OMNIA cantilever for overhead contact line was used along the entire route. This considerably reduces assembly and maintenance times. Moreover, specific types of Conductor (TACSR - thermal resistant aluminum-alloy conductor steel reinforced) were used as a substitute for the conventional aluminum cabling. The aim was to counteract any thefts along the route, thereby increasing system availability.
Within its scope of work Alpiq EnerTrans S.p.A. was also responsible – along with the Civil General Contractor and the other Technological partners - for the technical coordination of the design phase as well as the interfaces during the construction phase.
The enter in operation of the new HS/HC line is a milestone for Italy – and further investments are planned: the next stages in the termination of the northern axis are the completion of the approval process for the routes Brescia-Verona and Verona-Padua.
Alpiq EnerTrans S.p.A. made a decisive contribution to the realisation of the important High Speed railway line between Treviglio and Brescia – and successfully met all the contractual deadlines. Hence, the company has achieved a remarkable goal that joins the ranks of previous successes which include the completion of the other Italian HS/HC lines Rome-Naples, Bologna-Florence, Milan-Bologna, Turin-Milan which are all well in operation today.