Webuild wins feasibility study to build superfast maglev train in Italy
02 February 2024
A digital render of what the maglev train could look like (Image: Webuild)
Italian contractor Webuild and aerospace company Leonardo have won a €4 million (US$4.4 million) contract to study the feasibility of building a high-speed magnetic levitation train.
The project, commissioned by Concessioni Autostradali Venete (CAV), represents a preliminary test for building sections of a maglev ‘Hyper Transfer’ line in Veneto.
The project aims to set the foundations for the world’s first operating prototype at a cost of €800 million (US$870.6 million).
Webuild leads the joint venture with a 96.22% stake, and partner Leonardo with the remaining 3.78%.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies will be the technology supply partner and designated designer for the operating prototype, in collaboration with its licensee Hyperloop Italia. RINA joins as an additional designated designer.
The transportation system would be capable of transporting people and cargo travelling at speeds equivalent to a jet aeroplane inside a tube built above ground. The low pressure within the tube reduces the friction to increase the speed at which it can operate.
Hyper Transfer, which Webuild said could become the first operating prototype in the world, would be developed in three successive stages, if every phase is successful: the feasibility study, (Phase 1); the design (Phase 2); then the construction and testing (Phase 3).
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