While the Marseille-Nice high-speed train file is beginning to be written with a question mark, there’s good news coming from the east. The other project on which the mayor of Nice has invested with his usual conviction and tenacity is showing a positive sign.
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), a company within the FS group (the Italian railways) responsible for the railway network, announced the signing of a contract with the ‘general contractor’ Cociv for the construction work on the AV/AC line (the Italian high-speed train) between Genoa and Milan.
The investment will be 6.2 billion euros, and the completion of the work is scheduled for 2019.
An initial portion has already been financed by the CIPE (the Committee for Economic Planning of the Ministry of Economy) to the tune of 500 million euros.
This operation signifies maintaining the prospect of bringing Nice within 3 hours’ distance of Milan and the corridor 5 of the European line Lisbon-Kiev, which will pass through the capital of Lombardy (in France via Marseille-Lyon then Turin), as foreseen by the collaboration agreements between Nice and Genoa.
Will Nice therefore open up towards the east rather than the west?
These latest developments, one negative and the other positive, suggest so.
