Florence Av Node Project Support

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Owner of the Executive Project related to the Florence High-Speed Node (HS Rail Link and new Firenze Belfiore High-Speed Station), IFR supports the tender activities for the construction of the Florence High-Speed Node - currently being carried out by the Florentia Consortium - by supervising monitoring activities at several levels, from specific TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) aspects, to geotechnical, structural, topographical and satellite monitoring issues, including monitoring of groundwater and possible environmental implications.

Florence AV Node

The development of the entire project includes the underground construction of the urban crossing on the HS/HC line - the so-called 'Passante' - equipped with the ERTMS L2 signalling system (in continuity with the Bologna-Florence and Florence-Rome HS lines) and the new Firenze Belfiore HS station.

With the new HS node configuration, it will be possible to reach the Tuscan capital at greater speed and frequency, whilst providing it with a large station serving not only railway users but the entire urban fabric.

The urban mobility system will reap important benefits. The overall intervention will be a great contribution in overcoming rail traffic congestion entering the Santa Maria Novella station, reducing transit times and introducing a separation between regional and HS trains. In addition, it will increase traffic capacity through the development of the City of Florence metropolitan railway system, as well as regularity of the HS node for regional trains. From an urban planning standpoint, most of the works will be done underground, to preserve Florence’s aesthetics, as a UNESCO heritage site.The development of the entire project includes the underground construction of the urban crossing on the HS/HC line - the so-called 'Passante' - equipped with the ERTMS L2 signalling system (in continuity with the Bologna-Florence and Florence-Rome HS lines) and the new Firenze Belfiore HS station.

With the new HS node configuration, it will be possible to reach the Tuscan capital at greater speed and frequency, whilst providing it with a large station serving not only railway users but the entire urban fabric.

The urban mobility system will reap important benefits. The overall intervention will be a great contribution in overcoming rail traffic congestion entering the Santa Maria Novella station, reducing transit times and introducing a separation between regional and HS trains. In addition, it will increase traffic capacity through the development of the City of Florence metropolitan railway system, as well as regularity of the HS node for regional trains. From an urban planning standpoint, most of the works will be done underground, to preserve Florence’s aesthetics, as a UNESCO heritage site.

The Rail Link (‘Passante’)
The new Firenze Belfiore high-speed train station

The urban section of the new HS/HC line, with a total length of about 8 km, will run about 7 km underground (“Passante”), with two one-track parallel tunnels between the current Firenze Rifredi and Firenze Campo di Marte stations, and above ground in the terminal sections of Castello-Rifredi and Campo di Marte-Rovezzano.

The Rail Link is the pivotal element of the Florence railway redevelopment project. The urban crossing will connect the Rome-Florence 'Direttissima' Line with the Florence-Bologna HS/HC line underground, running about 8 km through the city, from north to south. The HS crossing starts at the Firenze Castello station and runs mainly underground for about 7 km to the Firenze Campo di Marte station. In the proximity of the Firenze Rifredi station, the track goes underground through two separate tunnels, one in each direction, to the new underground station for HS trains, located in the Belfiore area. The line continues in two separate tunnels toward Campo di Marte, skirting the Fortezza da Basso and developing at Viale Spartaco Lavagnini, where the track will reach a maximum depth of 27 metres, and then continue on the surface near the station of Firenze Campo di Marte to join the Direttissima Florence-Rome.

An integral part of the HS/HC crossing is the 'overpass', which has been in operation since October 2011: the future tracks of the rail link will run underground, along its route. The 'overpass' allows a traffic to be properly routed to and from the new Bologna-Florence HS line, eliminating any interference with traffic on the historic lines through a multi-level route, to overcome the congestion of rail traffic towards the Santa Maria Novella station.

The project, designed by Foster & Partners and Ove Arup & Partners, involves the construction of a 450x50 metre structure, with an extension of approximately 45,000 square metres, located up to 25 metres below street level. The roof will rise approximately 18 metres in height.

The new station will have four levels:

Train access platforms;
The mezzanine floor (acting as a distribution element for the passenger flow);
The ground floor;
The first floor.

The first two levels will be underground, while the first floor will be above ground, inside the roof. The most prominent architectural element will be a large glass roof supported by a steel structure.

Architect Foster devised a multi-layer system where each component fulfils different functions. The roof is articulated in several elements, whose variable structure ensures environmental and acoustic control, natural lighting, air exchange and exhaust ventilation. The project adopts technological solutions exploiting renewable materials and reducing energy requirements and pollutant emissions.

The Florence station will set a first for Italy. It is by all means and purposes an underground structure, in which even the lower levels enjoy natural lighting, thanks to its vertical layout, which makes finding the right direction easier for travellers. The materials, and the aesthetic and functional solutions selected all contribute to making it a pleasant, hospitable, attractive place.

Durable materials were carefully selected for the interiors. Below the ground level, the space is designed to enhance the visitors’ experience of entering the historic city. Richly decorated marble walls give way to a modern interpretation of rustication, achieved through precast concrete.

The ceiling of the underground floor features fan-shaped structures that support the floor above, whose marble surface is very similar to that of the walls. Moving up to ground level, the predominant colour becomes white. Here, the lighter floors increase the amount of reflected light. While the walls are covered in glass and metal, replacing the stone and concrete of the lower level.

The flow of passengers inside will be regulated by a series of inclined treadmills, lifts and escalators to make the transition from one level to the next quick and smooth. Everyone entering or leaving the station will pass through the two-floor gallery with services and shops (ground floor and first floor). The project is completed by the magnificent low vaulted roof with photovoltaic cells incorporated in the intermediate panels. Embedded in the intermediate panels will act as an 'artificial sky', capable of filtering sunlight and replicating the external colours inside the structure.

The new station will be interconnected with Firenze Santa Maria Novella by a people-mover, running continuously, and will be fully accessible by a wide range of transport modes, from the tramway line to the urban and extra-urban LPT system's road vehicles, from the pedestrian and biking trails to the adjacent Circondaria regional train stop.

By integrating different infrastructural components and the new underground railway link, the new station will improve accessibility to new forms of travel, which promote public, shared, and active mobility in a sustainable logic: an opportunity to redevelop the external areas between Belfiore and Santa Maria Novella, starting from the Macelli area and the former Centrale del Latte.

The new HS station in the Belfiore-Macelli area, dedicated only to high-speed trains, will be closely interconnected with the central Santa Maria Novella station and the Metropolitan Railway System (SFM) trains, also through the urban local public transport system and thanks to measures to improve bicycle and pedestrian accessibility.

The entire area will acquire greater competitiveness and attractiveness, triggering a regeneration process that, by reconfiguring spaces and offering new uses, can restore the urban environment’s quality and inclusion, and attract new investments, with positive effects on the economic and social liveliness of the entire city.

The accessibility project for the new Firenze Belfiore AV station includes the following interventions:

The new "Circondaria Stop", to be built at the Via Circondaria roadway below, which will serve all the railway lines (regional and HS) connected to the Firenze Rifredi, Firenze Statuto, Firenze Campo di Marte and Firenze SMN stations;
The people mover, providing a direct connection between the Firenze SMN station and the future Firenze Belfiore HS station;
Integration of the people mover and the Circondaria stop with the Firenze Belfiore HS station.

Given the time required to complete the project, the overall accessibility of the Firenze Belfiore HS station will be rolled out in several functional phases. The feasibility project of the 'first functional phase' includes:

Construction of three of the platforms (the 1st, 2nd and part of the 3rd) of the final configuration, accessible from two underpasses;
Railway canopies insisting on the new platforms 1, 2 and 3;
Retaining wall along Via Cironi and Via Sighele;
Extension of the existing underpass on Via Circondaria;
Adaptation of the existing track level with adjustment of the railway tracks involved (Montevarchi AV, Direttissima, Indipendente and Romito locomotive depot);
Construction of the new pedestrian underpass on Via Cironi, and adaptation of the existing pedestrian underpass on Via Sighele.

Connected Europe

The project for the new configuration of the Florence High-Speed Node is part of a broader European project, the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network), whose main objective is the creation of a connected Europe, through a transport network capable of promoting growth and competitiveness, through the free movement of people, goods, goods and services.

This is therefore a unique development opportunity for the accessibility and centrality of Florence - one of the most visited art cities in Europe.

The structure of the TEN-T network is based on nine infrastructure corridors. Four of them affect Italy, the largest of which is the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor. The Florence High-Speed Node fits exactly in this context.

The project figures

~ 8 km

Length

100 KM/h

Max speed

1,8%

Average slope

27 m

Maximum excavation depth