If you have ever taken a train in Sicily, you know what we are talking about: the railway situation on the island is among the most complex in Italy. About 1,370 km network, well 1,146 they are still single track, which means that only one train can pass on that route at a time, with low frequencies and delays that are often unavoidable.
Yet, something big is happening. Construction of the new route is underway Palermo–Catania–Messina: about 200km of new railway infrastructure, built largely by Webuild and its partners on behalf of RFI, within the Scandinavian–Mediterranean TEN-T trans-European corridor.
In the video we entered the construction sites near Taormina to understand up close the complexity of an extraordinary work. In this stretch, between the hills and the sea, there is literally no space for a modern railway: almost the entire new route has been moved inland, underground. On 200km of new tracksas many as 110 run in the tunnel, dug with TBM, the large mechanized moles building the tunnel as they advance.
The results will be concrete: the Palermo-Catania-Messina project will cost over 12 billion euros and will be activated in phases. The first section, between Bicocca and Catenanuovahas already been in operation since October 2025.
For once something important is built in the South, it was worth talking about. Watch the video to enter the construction sites with us.
