Webuild Group has signed a €1.82bn ($2bn) contract to begin executive design and work of the construction lot of a crossing at the Vincenza junction of the Verona-Padua high-speed railway in Northern Italy.

The contract was signed with railway infrastructure manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.

Webuild is working on additional railway lots with Iricav Due, which also comprises Hitachi Rail STS with 17% of the partnership and Lamaro Appalti and Fintecna as minority participants in that venture.

The second lot will stretch approximately 6.2km from the commune of Altavilla Vicentina to Vicenza railway station. It will also include the replacement of 4.8km of existing track.

This will enable further high-speed regional freight transit services along the Milan-Venice route. It will ensure greater separation of traffic flows, resulting in increased capacity and regularity of service, shorter travel times, and increased train frequency.

The Verona-Padua line, encompassing 76.5km long, has been divided into three lots.

Work on the first lot, between Verona and Bivio Vicenza (44.2km), began in 2020 and is 35% complete.

The third lot for the Vicenza-Padua railway section (a total of 26km) is in the final stages of design.

Webuild manages the design, monitors the environmental effect, and oversees the civil and technology works on all of the lots.

Construction is anticipated to create approximately 4,000 jobs, with roughly 450 companies along the supply chain currently working on contracts worth more than €1.3bn.