Milan M4 Metro Line: Trial run along first section between Linate and Forlanini FS

MILAN, January 10, 2020 - Trial runs have begun for trains between the Linate city airport and the Forlanini FS station that comprise the first section of the new M4 metro line being built in Milan.

The project, which will link the airport with the city centre in a mere 12 minutes, is one of the most important projects of sustainable mobility in Europe. It is being commissioned by the city and developed by M4 SpA, the concessionaire in which the city, Salini Impregilo and Astaldi are among its shareholders.

The trial runs between the airport and the station marks an important step for the testing of trains built by Hitachi Rail, the signaling and ventilation systems and fire safety before this first section comes into service in 2021. There are 56 work sites across the city for the M4 on which 1,500 people work, 500 of whom for Metro Blu, which comprises Salini Impregilo and Astaldi. A second section between Forlanini FS and Dateo station will open in mid-2022 before a third section reaches San Babila in the heart of the city by December of the same year.

The M4 will be 15 kilometres long with 21 stations between the airport and San Cristoforo FS, with trains crossing the historic centre in 30 minutes. It will be connected to the existing network of rail and metro lines to make transport more sustainable across Milan. The line itself will help reduce traffic by 16 million vehicles a year and CO2 emissions by 54,000 tonnes a year.

The M4, which will serve 86 million passengers a year, will be a light automated rail line, a system with the characteristics of a regular metro but with more efficient and sustainable features. The driverless system will have technology to allow for the smart management of the frequency of trains serving the stations to guarantee passengers a higher standard of comfort and safety.

The M4, which will bring to 118 kilometres the total length of the Milan metro system to make it sixth in Europe by extension, is an example of Salini Impregilo's leadership in the sector. It is one of nine metro projects in which the Group is helping build across the globe to improve sustainable mobility for a combined total of 3.6 million people a day. Projects include the Red Line North Underground in Doha, one of the biggest in the Middle East; the Hurontario Light Rail Transit in Canada; and the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth, Australia.