Aurora beneath the Apennines – Another tunnel is being built on the Naples–Bari railway line

Construction of the Melito Tunnel has begun on the Apice–Hirpinia section of the Naples–Bari high-speed railway line in Italy. The tunnel, approximately 4.4 kilometres long, will run beneath the Southern Apennines. The works are being carried out by the Italian Webuild on behalf of RFI, which belongs to the state railway company – that is, the FS Italiane group. The project was reported by RailwayPro.

The entire development project involves the construction of approximately 145 kilometres of new railway line, which will ultimately link Naples with Bari. The railway line forms part of the Scandinavian–Mediterranean corridor of the European Union’s TEN-T network.

The new line will be double-track, and journey time will be reduced from the current four hours to two hours. Sixteen new stations – including a freight yard – will be built between the two cities, with local connections.

The Aurora has returned underground via a previous tunnel

The tunnel boring machine (TBM) known as Aurora is being used in the construction of the Melito Tunnel. This impressive machine has a cutter head with a diameter of 12.5 metres, a total length of approximately 100 metres, and weighs nearly 1,600 tonnes.

This is not the first time the machine has been deployed on this railway development project. It had previously carried out the excavation of the 2-kilometre-long Grottaminarda Tunnel. Once the work was completed, the Aurora was dismantled so that it could be transported across the River Ufita, and then reassembled. It was then able to begin its next underground project.

The TBM is powered by 18 motors, with a combined output of 6.3 megawatts. During the construction of the new tunnel, the machine will operate at a depth of up to approximately 130 metres.

70 per cent of the section is a tunnel

Tunnel boring and structural work are proceeding in parallel. As the TBM advances, the permanent lining of the tunnel is also being installed continuously. During the works, more than 22,200 precast concrete segments are being installed to form the permanent lining of the tunnel.

The complex underground works are operated and maintained by more than 140 specialists. Tunnel construction is carried out on a continuous basis; in other words, the Aurora is scheduled to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Melito Tunnel is the second-longest tunnel on the Apice–Hirpinia section. The entire railway section is 18.7 kilometres long, of which around 13 kilometres will run through tunnels. This accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the route.

The 6.5-kilometre record-breaking track is now complete

On the Apice–Hirpinia section, in addition to the Melito Tunnel, other major underground structures are also being built. These include the Rocchetta Tunnel , which is 6.5 kilometres long and was completed in May; it is the longest tunnel on this section. The tunnel was excavated by a TBM named Futura, and the works were completed in 18 months.

As part of the project, Hirpinia station will also be built, which could become an important transport hub for the inland areas of the Campania region. The two-storey station will have four platforms. Construction work on the station has already been completed; work is currently under way on the infrastructure providing road access to the station, comprising four roundabouts, eight road sections and a new car park.