Naples: 833 million Metro 6 kicks off, Bagnoli to be signed on Monday

The official inauguration of Line 6 of the Naples Metro is scheduled for Tuesday 16 July in the presence of the Minister of Transport, Matteo Salvini, and European commissioners, and the first trains will depart on Wednesday 17. Meanwhile, on Friday 12, the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, and Hitachi Rail presented the work and its upcoming developments.

In gestation for about 40 years, after a radical change of design and many stops, an important milestone has been reached. Line 6 is about 6 km long and has 8 stations - 4 of which are new - and is part of the 'stations of art' circuit. It will connect the Mostra D'Oltremare in Naples to Piazza Municipio in just 13 minutes, compared to an average journey time of around 20 minutes by car. It will pass through the Fuorigrotta district and the Riviera di Chiaia. At Piazza Municipio it will intersect with Line 1. This too will undergo major interventions: it will be extended to the Directional Centre and then to Capodichino. From 2025, the 22 new trains that Hitachi Rail is building at its Italian production sites, including Naples, will be phased in. We will start with five modernised trains immediately in operation. It will start in the first two months with a 'summer' timetable from 7.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. with trains every 13 and a half minutes, and from Mostra to Municipio will take 16 minutes with a forecast of about 2,000 users per hour in the first phase. From September, the timetable will be complete. From 2027, it will be possible to use the entire fleet of trains with a service frequency of 4.5 minutes. The entire Line 6 will use Hitachi Rail's innovative digital signalling system, developed between Genoa and Naples.

The work cost 833 million, financed by the European Regional Development Fund and co-financed by the region, state and municipality. Funding of 230 million for the new train depot is available for further development. The presentation of the work was also an opportunity to anticipate new works to be carried out. Edoardo Cosenza, Councillor for Infrastructure and Mobility, City of Naples: 'We have a new train depot in Via Campegna and work will soon begin on the new 'Mostra' depot. These structures are necessary to ensure a quality service'. Meanwhile, a memorandum of understanding on Bagnoli is scheduled to be signed in Naples on Monday 15 July, at 11.30 am, between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the mayor of Naples and commissioner for Bagnoli,Gaetano Manfredi.