Anm inaugurates the new R4 trolleybus line built by Alstom - De Luca ATI

• Pascale: '12 kilometres of new trolleybus network for the city'.
• R4 trolleybus line enhances public service with a green perspective

25 June 2021 - Anm’s new R4 trolleybus line was inaugurated and put into commercial service today. This is a project promoted by the City of Naples, co-financed by the Ministry of the Environment and built by RTI Alstom Ferroviaria Spa - De Luca Costruzioni.

The trolley-bus infrastructure, which connects the National Museum with the Cardarelli Hospital area by crossing the Sanità Bridge, alongside the Capodimonte Basilica and then back up along Via Colle Aminei, will allow Anm to strengthen its public service in a "green" perspective.  A strategy that the company is implementing both by installing electric car columns in car parks and by putting new low-emission buses on the road. A step which in the case of R4 means replacing existing internal combustion buses with 12 trolleybuses with an integrated emission-free electric transport system.  The terminus of the R4 line (Aminei) is adjacent to a Metro Line 1 stop, which is convenient for connection. The new line, which will replace the existing line 604, will have a length of about 6 km in each direction; a capillary connection at the service of users along the route will be guaranteed by 25 stops and thanks to a service from 5.30 to 23.45 hours with cadence every 7 min.

"I have to say that it was challenging to achieve this objective, it took a lot of determination and great teamwork. A challenge taken by ANM and all stakeholders involved in this green project, which moves toward public mobility, which strengthens ANM’s fleet of vehicles and which occurred at a time when the Municipality is under a particular economic pressure. But we have never stopped. In this way we connect Colli Aminei and the hospital area in a green and effective way with the centre of Naples and in particular the National Museum area." This was the comment made by the Mayor of Naples Luigi de Magistris at the inauguration of the ANM trolleybus line.

“Another important aim of the Municipal Administration is being realised today. A completely zero-emission trolleybus network that connects the city centre with the hilly area and reinforces the offer of mobility services that are increasingly focused on environmental sustainability. This project is eagerly awaited by the citizens, and in addition to providing a sustainable transport service it will also upgrade the entire lighting system for a part of the route, making it more energy efficient. We are continuing on the path we have embarked on, adding a fundamental piece for the " green " turnaround of our transport and our services for citizens” says Marco Gaudini Councillor for Public Transport and Mobility of the City of Naples

"We are looking to the future and doing so through small steps every day to improve our mobility services," explains Anm's sole director Nicola Pascale. This new trolleybus network is a project that began in 2010 and in which we have firmly believed, relaunching it in 2019 and now bringing it to a conclusion. Connecting the city centre with the hillside area through a fully electric system is a step we consider extremely important, as it allows us to significantly improve services while cancelling environmental impacts.

"We are pleased to have realized for Anm the new trolleybus R4, the all-electric line that will connect the Hospital Area with the National Museum of Naples” says Vincenzo Garofalo, Systems & Infrastructure Italy Managing Director of Alstom. “The new trolleybus project will contribute to enhancing transport services, with the aim of reducing exhaust emissions and noise pollution and thus safeguarding the environment".

ANM's Director of Electrified Transport, Pierpaolo Martino, points out that "in addition to the construction of the overhead network to power the new trolleybuses, the project included a series of functional works such as 2 electrical conversion substations, an integrated remote control supervision system and a series of ancillary works such as the public lighting system and the widening of some pedestrian pavements, providing to the city a modern, environmentally friendly infrastructure which, once fully operational, will allow more than 12 trolleybuses to be put on the line at the same time, leading to the complete replacement of ANM's fleet of internal combustion vehicles".

In addition to the construction of the overhead network to power the new trolleybuses, the project includes a series of functional works such as two conversion substations, an integrated supervision system and a series of ancillary works such as the public lighting system and the widening of some pedestrian pavements, providing to the city a modern, environmentally friendly infrastructure. Once fully operational, it will allow more than 12 trolleybuses to be put on the line at the same time, leading to the complete replacement of the ANM internal combustion vehicle fleet.

The contract was awarded to Alstom Ferroviaria - De Luca Costruzioni Generali ATI in a public tender in 2010.  In October 2019, a new contractual addendum was signed with Alstom to complete and finish the infrastructural work.

For the realisation of the infrastructural work, more than 600 poles were laid to support both the overhead network and the public lighting. About 25Km of power cables, 16Km of contact line, 2 energy conversion plants (Electricity Substations) were installed. In addition, more than 10,000 cubic metres of concrete were used and more than 2,000 square metres of new pedestrian paving was laid. Following the completion of the first functional activation, relating to the Cardarelli hospital area, on 26 November 2020, the activities required for operation have now been completed, on schedule., following the functional tests carried out by USTIF and the completion of the ancillary works, today in the presence of the city authorities, the ANM management and the Alstom management, the R4 trolleybus line was activated for public service after a pre-operational phase of approximately two weeks in the 15:00-19:00 time slot.