Italy-based public transport company Brescia Mobilita has awarded a €326m ($37.4m) contract to the Temporary Grouping of Companies (RTI) consortium comprising Manelli Impresa, Hitachi Rail and Alstom, to construct the new T2 tramway line in Brescia city.
The T2 line will span an 11.3km double-track route, linking the southwest and northwest parts of the city. It will pass through densely populated neighbourhoods, ensuring a rapid transit link to the FS Station hub.
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The project is set to connect Pendolina and Fiera stations, aiming to bolster public transport efficiency, decrease environmental impact, and enable seamless integration of different urban mobility modes
The plan includes 21 stops, a main depot at Fiera, and an auxiliary depot at Pendolina.
With 72% of the route in dedicated lanes, the tramway is designed for uninterrupted and safe traffic flow. It will be powered primarily by an overhead contact line for about 8.2km, with battery-powered sections spanning approximately 3.1km to reduce landscape impact.
Manelli Impresa will handle the line and civil infrastructure works, including the final design and safety coordination during the design phase of the T2 tramway line. The company’s share of the works amounts to approximately €161m.
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By GlobalDataManelli Impresa CEO Sergio Onofrio Manelli said: “The new tramway project is developed within an articulated urban context, which includes both historic areas and areas undergoing transformation that will also be subject to redevelopment.
“Its realisation represents an important opportunity to improve the quality of urban space, consistent with the strategies of the Territorial Government Plan (TMP).”
Alstom will oversee the design and implementation of switchgear, electric traction, overhead contact line, ground signalling system, street lighting, and traffic light system, with the contract worth around €88m.
The System & Infrastructure team at Alstom’s Rome headquarters will manage the project, while the electric traction components will be sourced from Alstom’s Valmadrera site. One of the components includes Spiroll, a tool designed for the automatic tensioning of overhead contact wires.
Hitachi Rail will deliver 18 new streetcars and provide telecommunication and signalling equipment, with the order valued at about €77m.
These streetcars, produced at the Reggio Calabria facility, will feature an Advanced Driver Assistant System (ADAS) with Anti-Collision functions along with advanced technologies for vibration reduction and noise minimisation.
The trams will offer 52 seats, which account for over a quarter of the train’s total seating capacity of 216. They will be built with materials that are light and can be recycled by 98%.
Furthermore, the trams will have smart air conditioning systems that adjust based on how many people are on board, which will save energy.
The trams will run on batteries and will use braking energy recovery and innovative Eco-Drive algorithms when braking and driving, cutting energy use by 15-20%.
Hitachi Rail Group COO and Hitachi Rail Italia CEO Luca D’Aquila said: “The streetcars to be built for the city of Brescia meet the highest market standards and represent excellence in tram transportation globally.
“They represent an example of Hitachi Rail’s ability to bring to the market an increasingly complete offer with cutting-edge technologies for the benefit of our customers and passengers.”
Hitachi Rail is also working to update the train line between Hamburg and Berlin for DB InfraGO, which is part of the larger German train company Deutsche Bahn.
