As part of a temporary consortium, Ansaldo STS is developing the Metro Campania North East (MetroCampania Nord-Est). This will restore and upgrade the old Alifana railway, built in 1914, whose lower branch linked Naples and Santa Maria Capua Vetere, crossing densely-populated areas of the Naples hinterland, while the upper branch continued to Piedimonte Matese.
While the upper branch has always remained in operation, the lower section was closed in 1976. After thirty years, the line was given a new lease of life:the original project was redrafted and included in the new regional metro system under the name Metro Campania North East, which, in its final form,
will be approximately 75 km long and will link the important centres of the Province of Caserta with the city of Naples, serving the towns of Aversa Giugliano, Melito, Mugnano, Piscinola, Secondigliano and Capodichino Airport. The stretch between the stations of Piscinola and Capodichino will be shared with the ring line 1 of the Naples metro.
As well as being a concrete example of infrastructure work in the urban transport sector, the Metro Campania North East project offers extraordinary opportunities in relation to improvements to the transport system, urban regeneration and technological development.
This was be fully achieved at the end of 2008, in just five years.
StructureThe lower section of the Alifana, now Metro Campania North East, is like a metro system, with the same technological standards as already used for line 1 of the Naples metro on the Capodichino - Teverola section and with compatible technological standards on the Teverola - S.M. Capua Vetere section, where the same trains will too run on a single track.
It runs over more than 29 km, of which 19.7 km is a double-track line with 13 stations and 9.5 km is a single-track much line with three stations.
There will be a train every ten minutes.The maximum transport capacity is 7,800 people per hour, and the commercial speed 45 km/h. Infrastructure has been designed for a maximum train frequency of six minutes.
The completion of the work will see a single large rail network linking Naples, the municipalities to its north and those of Casertano up to Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
The ring of line 1 of the regional metro, which represents
the largest infrastructure project in the South of Italy after High Speed Trains, will thus be completed
. The Piscinola – Scampia – Mugnano section is currently in operation.It is 3.2 km long, has a transport capacity of 3,500 people an hour, and trains every 15 minutes from 6 am to 10 pm.
The security system will be implemented through the latest software and hardware based on high-performance integrated architecture to ensure passenger safety. The stations will provide total access, with lifts and escalators for the disabled and monitors on the platforms providing user information.
The stations: Rainbow ProjectA common thread unifies the project as regards the distribution of space and choice of finishes: all stops are built on two interactive platforms, and chiefly vary in colour, making it easier and faster for passengers to get their bearings. Every station, adorned with
works by contemporaryartists, is in a colour chosen in sequence from the seven colours of the rainbow: Teverola red, Aversa 167 orange, Aversa Centro green, Aversa Ippodromo yellow, Giugliano blue, Melito indigo, Mugnano violet and the final stop, Piscinola Scampia, considered as a virtual terminus, has all seven colours of the rainbow.
