The Milan–Verona high-speed railway is an Italian long high-speed railway line, that is partly open and partly under construction to connect Milan with Verona. The route operates through the regions of Lombardy and Veneto. The line is part of Railway axis 6 of the Trans-European rail network on the Pan-European Corridor V. The line will replace the Milan–Venice railway for high-speed trains. In 2007, the first phase of construction was completed and opened, between Milan Lambrate and Treviglio. In 2016, the second phase between Treviglio and Brescia was completed. Construction of the remaining section to Verona is still in progress; it is expected to be completed in 2022 or 2023. The stretch to be built between Milan and Verona will measure a total of around 165 kilometers. The route will pass through 31 municipalities in Lombardy and 4 in Veneto.
Construction
The project between Milan and Treviglio was approved in 1995. The connection between the Lambrate station in Milan and the station Pioltello-Limito was completed in 2000, while the section to Treviglio was opened on 10 June 2007. The line has a total of just under thirty kilometers long and has cost just under €290 million. The final design of the stretch Treviglio - Brescia was approved by CIPE in November 2007 with funding from the Economic Financial Planning Document between 2007 and 2011 of €2.05 billion. An agreement was signed between Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and Cepav Due to the start of work on the first construction lot of this on 7 March 2011, to the value of €700 million. Work began in May 2012 and was completed in 2016. The railway signaling along the route of the line in operation is the same as on most of the conventional lines, while that of the under construction section will feature ERTMS/ETCS, which ensures interoperability between the European rail lines. Testing of the section Treviglio-Brescia has begun in August 2016.
The route
Leaving Milan Centrale station, the railway shares a common route with conventional tracks to Milan Lambrate station. After leaving Lambrate, it branches off east towards the mainline to Verona and Bergamo. At Melzo, the high-speed line divides from the historical route west of Treviglio station. This junction at Treviglio West will enable connection of the currently separate Treviglio and Treviglio Ovest stations. The dedicated high-speed section between Treviglio and Brescia is 39.6 km long. The project approved by the CIPE involves the construction of a new high-speed, high capacity railway that will bypass to the south of the city of Bergamo to reach Brescia along a line that is mostly separate from the conventional line. The new track will branch from the future junction at Treviglio West to follow the A35 motorway to the municipality of Castrezzato. From this location, at the completion of the railway line up to Verona, there will be a branch to Brescia West junction, joining with the conventional route. This junction will join the conventional line near Ospitaletto to arrive at the station of Brescia. Commercial operation of trains is scheduled for December 2016, at the start of the 2016-2017 timetable. Based on various projects, not yet approved by the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning, the stretch Castrezzato - Verona should be 53 km long and its cost has been estimated at €2.8 billion. The section concerned starts from Brescia West junction, located near Castrezzato, and passed through the towns south of Brescia, following a route alongside the A21 motorway. At Montichiari a High-speed station for Brescia is planned and near Calcinato Brescia East junction is planned.
