ITALY: Work has started on a long-planned extension of Cagliari’s 950 mm gauge tramway to link the existing terminus at Piazza Repubblica with the main railway station.
Expected to cost €26m to build, the 2·5 km extension will add six stops including an interchange at the main line station. The project is mostly being funded from EU grants, and lead contractor is the Integra Consortium. Work began on March 27 and construction is due for completion within 836 days, according to the tender stipulations.
Operated by Sardinian transport authority ARST, Cagliari’s 12 km network is formed of two routes, mostly using moribund Ferrovie della Sardegna railway alignments. Line 1 links Repubblica with Policlinico, while Line 2 runs as a tram-train over 4 km of railway tracks from a junction at Gottardo to reach Settimo San Pietro.
ARST has a fleet of six Škoda 06T cars delivered ahead of the line’s opening in 2008, plus three CAF Urbos vehicles which entered traffic in April 2018.
