Work has started on the latest extension of Rome Metro’s Line C.
The 3km T1 extension will lead to the arts and sports districts of Flaminio and Foro Italico in the city’s north-west and add two underground stations.
Metro C, the general contractor led by Webuild and Vianini Lavori, has started preparing the sites for the two stations – Auditorium and Farnesina.
The Flaminio and Foro Italico districts are home to some of Rome’s leading arts, culture and sports centres, such as the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, the MAXXI arts museum, the Olympic Village and the Foro Italico sports complex. It is also where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, known as the Farnesina, is located.
Auditorium station will be built next to the Palazzetto dello Sport and will serve the Flaminio arts and culture district. It will have three entrances and six levels underground to a depth of 45m.
Farnesina station will be the terminus of the line where the Foro Italico and the ministry are located. It will have three entrances and seven levels underground to a depth of 43m. It will also be designed to accommodate a future extension towards Grottarossa and Tor di Quinto.
Webuild says the T1 project will require advanced engineering solutions to build reinforced concrete diaphragm walls to depths of up to 80m.
T1’s route, which will be excavated by TBMs, will pass beneath the Tiber River at three locations: between the Farnesina and Auditorium stations; the Auditorium and Mazzini stations; and the Piazza Pia/Castel Sant’Angelo and Chiesa Nuova stations. The latter will be one of the most demanding technical challenges of the project, as excavation will take place little more than 20m beneath the riverbed.
Once completed, Line C will extend 29km and have 31 stations, connecting Rome’s eastern suburbs, the historic centre and the city’s main cultural, sporting and institutional destinations. To date, 24 stations have been completed, from the eastern terminus through to Porta Metronia and Colosseo/Fori Imperiali stations in the city centre, both of which opened last December.
