The scope also includes nine bridges, two viaducts and a new station at Montalto Uffugo for the University of Calabria.

Engineers face faulted ground and shifting hydrogeology along the alignment, requiring a mix of mechanized and conventional tunneling. Surface works intersect rivers and drainage channels, necessitating extensive water management. Environmental safeguards include vibration monitoring and strict spoil controls, according to Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.

European Corridor Priority

The Salerno–Reggio Calabria line forms part of the EU’s Scandinavian–Mediterranean TEN-T network, identified by the European Commission as one of nine “core” transport corridors across the continent.

Travel time between Rome and Reggio Calabria is projected to drop to three hours and forty minutes, from today’s five hours.

Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini framed the works as “central to completing the Scan-Med corridor and boosting access to Southern Italy,” adding in remarks reported by Reuters that, “This railway is not only a national priority—it is Europe’s investment in Italy’s future. We will not let technical or criminal obstacles derail progress.”

Paola–Cosenza’s $79-million/km cost aligns with other tunnel-dominated works. By comparison, RFI places Naples–Bari at $6.32 billion for 145 km, or about $43.6M/km, on its Naples–Bari project page. On Sicily, RFI values the Taormina–Giampilieri segment of the Palermo–Catania–Messina corridor at $1.56 billion for 28 km, or $55.7M/km.

The government’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, summarized in a parliamentary dossier reviewed by ENR, supports the southern rail push with $5.05 billion in loans. One of the first sections to advance under this funding is the 35-km Battipaglia–Romagnano line, budgeted at $1.96 billion. 

Construction there is already underway with the help of “Partenope,” a 13.46-m tunnel-boring machine weighing 4,000 tons with 10 MW of power that Webuild says is the largest in Europe.

Italy’s SILOS infrastructure portal currently pegs the overall 445-km Salerno–Reggio Calabria line at about $12.2 billion.

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Economic Footprint

Webuild estimates 1,500 workers will be employed on Paola–Cosenza, while its southern Italy portfolio spans 19 projects totaling 320 km of high-speed rail, engaging about 8,700 people and thousands of suppliers.

RFI highlights both economic and social impacts: freight bound for Gioia Tauro port will run more efficiently, while tourists heading to Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Calabria’s Ionian coast will have faster access.

“The project will significantly improve the capacity and efficiency of the railway connection between the Tyrrhenian coast and inland areas of Calabria, ensuring better accessibility to Cosenza and strengthening the Bari–Taranto–Gioia Tauro freight route,” Webuild said.

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