The reopening of the Arona-Santhià line in northern Italy, a key missing piece to link Turin with Switzerland, is now one step closer to reality. The country’s infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) has finally started a feasibility study, which will last until the first half of next year.
The Arona-Santhià railway, inaugurated in 1905, stretches for 65 kilometres. Traffic along this line has been suspended since 2012, but new demand for rail freight services pushed for a possible reopening. The infrastructure needs to be revamped as, after it was closed, crossing levels and barriers were removed as well as parts of the tracks and signalling systems.
The feasibility study launched by RFI will cost five million euros, which were allocated in December 2023 and finally approved last summer. Two years ago, cost estimates for a full reopening were set between 36 and 44 million euros. Both the Piedmont region and the Novara province are in favour of a reopening plan, despite it was the former which pushed for the traffic suspension in 2012.