St. Barbara day this year was celebrated in Bevera tunnel, on the new rail link Arcisate-Mendrisio, 14.8 km long, of which 8.2 km in Italy and 6.6 km in Switzerland.
The new line, an exclusive passenger service, will link Varese and Lugano, Tessin Canton and Malpensa Intercontinental airport. Gotthard and Simplon lines will be connected too, in Gallarate. On Italian side the new link provides a doubling and the upgrading of existing Varese-Porto Ceresio line, on the stretch between Induno Olona and Arcisate (4.6 km) and a new double track route (3.6 km) starting on the existing line after Arcisate station and ending at the State border in Gaggiolo (municipality of Cantello). Induno Olona and Arcisate stations will be upgraded, and a new station in Gaggiolo will be built. Main structures on the new line are Induno Olona and Bevera tunnels, both about 1 km-long, Bevera viaduct and Baranzella bridge.
In April, 2009 RFI awarded executive design and construction work of the line to JV ICS Grandi Lavori/ Carena IC. The progress to date is 40 percent, with completion scheduled in late-2013 and opening to passengers in 2014.
In Bevera tunnel on the Stabio side, Tunnel Service srl supplied a vault formwork (radius 5.25 m, width 12 m), a 14 m-wide stand wagon for laying waterproofing and reinforcement, and two formworks for niches. In Bevera tunnel on the Varese side, the company supplied similar formwork for the vault, an 11 m-wide stand wagon for laying waterproofing and reinforcement, and two formworks for niches. In Induno tunnel another vault formwork was supplied, together with a 6 m-wide stand wagon for laying waterproofing and reinforcement, and three formworks for niches.
On Swiss territory, the project provides doubling and electrification of existing Mendrisio-Stabio line (4.5 km) and construction of a double track between Stabio and the State border (1.9 km). Mendrisio and Stabio stations will be upgraded to current standards of Swiss federal railways. The Swiss section was awarded to Consortium SaNoBa (ICS Grandi Lavori Spa, Impresa Luigi Notari SA, Ugo Bassi SA), owned at 60 percent by Italian Claudio Salini enterprise.
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