Italy's new high-speed rail line looks to reverse depopulation, lift southern economy

By Giulia Segreti

SANT'AGATA DE' GOTI, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's high-speed railway is yet pressing into the bosom of the underdeveloped south, utilizing European Union funds successful the anticipation that the caller web volition assistance reverse years of depopulation and assistance the lacklustre economy.

The 145-kilometre (90-mile) enactment volition link the cities of Naples connected the Mediterranean seashore to Bari connected the shores of the Adriatic successful conscionable 2 hours, against 4 astatine present.

The link, which is being upgraded and volition besides beryllium managed by state-controlled railway radical Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), is expected to beryllium completed by 2028.

"It's a revolutionary project, 2 Italian ports and 2 seas volition beryllium connected," said Alessio Forestieri from operation institution Pizzarotti, portion of the consortium gathering the line, which besides includes constructors Ghella and Itinera.

Costing conscionable implicit 6 cardinal euros ($6.48 billion), astir a 4th of this volition travel from the EU's COVID-19 betterment fund.

Italy is the largest recipient of the money and has been criticised for missing spending deadlines and perpetually seeking revisions of its archetypal plans. However, the precocious velocity enactment is already being held up arsenic a occurrence story.

The task is portion of a broader FS strategy to put immoderate 60 cardinal euros successful its web implicit the adjacent 10 years, strengthening and extending services nationwide.

Despite operating much than 17,000 km of obstruction lines, Italy's web has been heavy skewed towards the affluent north, leaving much remote, interior areas of the peninsula under-served, particularly successful the south.

More than 1,000 km of the FS tracks transportation high-speed trains, but aft reaching the southern-most constituent successful 2009 -- the metropolis of Salerno, adjacent to Naples -- improvement further southbound faced changeless delays due to the fact that of persistent backing problems.

A CHOICE

The two-track enactment to Bari volition regenerate the current, dilatory azygous line. All existing stations volition beryllium revamped, with a caller 1 created successful the distant country of Irpinia, inland from Naples.

Southern-focused think-tank Svimez estimates that, successful the operation signifier alone, the caller enactment volition make caller concern worthy much than 4 cardinal euros and 62,000 jobs.

Federica Favo, a 29-year aged from Naples who works connected 1 of the operation sites, says the task has helped her and galore caller graduates.

"When I started studying civilian engineering everyone said it was crazy, but present there's a existent jobs marketplace successful the area. The basal campy is similar a town, which offers truthful galore opportunities for the area," she told Reuters.

Italy's south, known arsenic the "Mezzogiorno", is successful dire request of a lift.

In the 10 years to 2022 astir 200,000 young graduates near the confederate regions for cardinal and bluish Italy and a further 138,000 moved abroad, the latest Svimez information shows.

The think-tank has forecast that by 2080, the southbound volition suffer implicit 8 cardinal residents -- its stock of the full Italian colonisation falling to 25.8% from 33.8% astatine present.

Giuseppe Cirillo, caput of the fast-speed task for FS infrastructure portion RFI, said the caller nexus could stem the exodus.

"Activating the enactment is crucial, particularly for each those inland areas and villages that person been suffering terrible depopulation successful caller years," helium told Reuters.

The enactment should let radical to support surviving successful their tiny hometowns and commute to larger cities to work, alternatively than uproot arsenic they present person to do, helium said.

Angela Lombardi, from the distant colony of Savignano Irpino, said yet having a presumption volition hugely broaden the question and occupation opportunities for section residents.

"It's a archetypal for our area," she said. "This enactment volition springiness america a choice."

(editing by Crispian Balmer and Gavin Jones)