The 6.4km tunnel will be the longest underground structure along the Apice-Hirpinia section of the rail line, being built by Webuild on behalf of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI of FS Italiane Group).
The Apice-Hirpinia section stretches 18.7km across the provinces of Avellino and Benevento, with 13km of tunnels. The Rocchetta Tunnel is being excavated by TBM Futura, which has a 12m-diameter cutterhead.
Civil works for the future Hirpinia station on the line have been finalised. The station will be a key hub connecting the inland areas of Avellino and Benevento to the national high-speed rail network.
Hirpinia station is built on two levels with four tracks (two central and two lateral). It will be served by a dedicated access road network that will include four roundabouts, eight roadways, and a parking area.
Webuild is preparing for another milestone on the Apice-Hirpinia project: in recent days, the launching of the reinforced concrete beams for the Ufita-Apice viaduct began. This structure will connect the Rocchetta Tunnel to the future Apice stop.
On this section, Webuild established an Advanced Training Centre in Apice supported by the training lab in Bovino, which includes a TBM simulator that provides a realistic and safe environment for training operators involved in complex tunnel excavation.
In total, the Naples-Bari line will span 145km of railway, with 15 tunnels, 25 viaducts and 20 stations and stops. Once completed, travel times between Naples and Bari will be halved to two hours; three hours between Rome and Bari; and four hours between Lecce and Taranto to Rome.
It will be part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor, a strategic infrastructure to improve southern Italy’s connectivity with the rest of Europe.
