Webuild signs contract for driverless Naples metro line
ITALY: A Webuild-led consortium has signed a EUR 660 million contract to design and build the first section of a new driverless metro line in Naples, linking the city’s northeastern suburbs to the Napoli-Afragola high-speed rail station.
The contract, signed 30 March, covers the first 6.5 kilometres and seven stations across Naples, Afragola, Casoria and Casavatore, with design work now under way.
The consortium — including Eteria Consorzio Stabile, Costruire, ICM and M.N. Metropolitana di Napoli alongside Webuild — also holds an exclusive right to execute subsequent phases, which would raise the total contract value above EUR 1.7 billion pending financing.
Systems and rolling stock awarded to CAF-led consortium
Phase 1A will deliver three fully built stations — Di Vittorio, Casoria Centro and Afragola Centro — and four stations to be partially initiated in this first phase. The line will run almost entirely underground, excavated using tunnel-boring machines and traditional methods.
Di Vittorio station will serve as the primary interchange in the first phase, connecting the new line to existing Lines 1 and 11 and providing onward access to the city centre and Capodichino airport. Once the full 14-kilometre line is operational, further connections are planned at Piazza Garibaldi with Lines 1 and 2 and the Circumvesuviana regional network, with the line’s opposite terminus providing a direct link to the Napoli-Afragola high-speed station.
GoA4 automation and new rolling stock
A separate contract for railway systems, rolling stock and maintenance has been awarded to a consortium led by CAF, alongside Leonardo, Mermec, AET and Ventura. The base contract is valued at EUR 259 million, with options potentially raising the total above EUR 630 million.
The scope covers a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system operating at GoA4, along with power supply, platform screen doors and a new operations control centre. CAF will supply driverless trains based on its Inneo platform. The project marks CAF’s first engagement in fully automated metro operations.
EUR 1.2 billion in initial funding
Initial funding for the project totals EUR 1.2 billion, comprising EUR 870 million from the Municipality of Naples and EUR 330 million from the Campania Region under the 2021–2027 European Regional Development Fund programme. The option phases, which would extend the line to the city centre and complete the full Lot 1 scope, remain subject to separate financing decisions.
The project is being implemented by EAV, the implementing body for the project appointed by the Municipality of Naples and the Campania Region.