Feasibility and preliminary design of a new railway line in the Dolomites area of Veneto Region

The current conformation of the railway line situated in the Dolomites area of Veneto Region does not represent an efficient network to fully connect the territory and serve the global mobility demand. In fact, the existing railway line lies along the Piave valley and connects cities on the Veneto plain with Belluno and the Cadore area, whereas public road transport links the train stations with the other towns in Belluno province. Given this background, a new railway line (from Calalzo to Cortina d’Ampezzo passing through Auronzo) could meet the province mobility needs, leading to a potential increase in traffic and thus improving economic and tourism development in the area. Indeed, historical as well as natural and tourist (ski) areas would benefit. Moreover, a new railway line is an attractive and valid alternative to the development of the existing road network, allowing a proper integration between rail and road transportation systems. In this sense, a preliminary design has shown noise levels at least halved with respect to a road context eliminating any level crossing, thus also proving to be a convincing solution under the environmental point of view. However, a more specific and detailed assessment of the environmental impact of the new railway line will be necessary taking into account that the region involved is one of the most scenic Dolomite areas (UNESCO Heritage Site), with complex morphology and geology. A 45 km long single-track railway layout has been designed hypothesizing two passenger trains per hour and assuming a minimum speed of 80 km/h, a minimum bend radius of 300 m, a maximum longitudinal slope of 20‰ and gauge of 1435 mm. A total cost of 500 million euros has been estimated for the realization of the new infrastructure.