Milan–Bologna high-speed railway

Starting from Milano Centrale station, trains bound for Bologna use the Milan belt railway or sometimes the Genova line, which links Milano Centrale with Milano Lambrate and Milano Rogoredo railway stations. During this journey, the train branches to the right at a junction with the "passenger" line, used by trains to and from the Milano–Domodossola line (to Domodossola, the Simplon Tunnel and Switzerland) and the Milan-Turin line to Turin. It branches to the right again at a junction with the Chiasso line (used by trains to and from Chiasso to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel and Switzerland), which also connects with the Milan-Lecco railway to Lecco.

At Milan Lambrate the belt railway connects with the lines from Milano Certosa station and to Milano Rogoredo, the Milan–Verona high-speed line and the traditional Milan–Venice line. After Lambrate, the Pioltello branch of the Milan Passante suburban railway passes under the line.

At Milano Rogoredo station the high-speed line separates from the traditional line near San Giuliano Milanese so that it can bypass the centre of Melegnano. After Melegnano the high-speed line passes the location of the former Sordo junction, which was closed after the extension of the high-speed line to Melegnano junction at Tavazzano. After the old Sordio junction, the line separated from the traditional line and joins the Autostrada del Sole (A1 motorway). Trains to and from Lodi that do not need to stop between Rogoredo and Lodi can join the new line at Melegnano junction. At the junction the electrification of the high-speed line changes 3,000 V DC to 25,000 V AC 50 Hz, which is to be used on almost all high-speed lines in Italy. The signalling system also changes to the modern European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) near the junction, at the 190.229 km (118.203 mi) mark (measured from Bologna).

At Somaglia the railway enters a 1,019-meter-long (3,343 ft) cut-and-cover tunnel above which a park is being built to mitigate the environmental impact of the autostrada, which the line will move away from near Santo Stefano Lodigiano. To the south of this town is Piacenza west junction, where a line connects the AV/AC to the traditional Milan-Bologna line to serve Piacenza station, where passengers can change to and from trains operating on the traditional, the Alessandria-Voghera-Piacenza and the Cremona-Piacenza lines.

After Piacenza west junction, the railway runs on a viaduct across the traditional line and the Po River near the village of Olevano di Lomellina. After passing over the A21 motorway and the SS 10 highway, the line will connect with the rail Cremona-Piacenza line at the uncompleted Piacenza east junction, when it is opened to traffic, allowing trains between Piacenza and Bologna to travel on the high speed line.

Shortly after Piacenza east junction, the railway rejoins the A1 and runs next to it until P.M.[1] Piacenza, which has two crossovers to enable trains to transfer between tracks at up to 160 km/h (99 mph), if necessary. Approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) after P.M. Piacenza is Fidenza west junction, which enables trains to be routed via the Fidenza-Cremona line towards Fidenza station, where passengers can transfer to the Pontremoli line to La Spezia. The grade-separated junction is located near the village of Castione Marchesi.

Just north of the cut-and-cover tunnel where the line passes Fontanellato is P.C.[2] Fontanellato, which is an identical set of crossovers to P.C. Piacenza. The line crosses the Taro River east of the exit to the Fontanellato tunnel on a long viaduct, which continues for much of the route north of Parma. To the south-east of the village of Parma Chiozzola is the grade-separated junction at Parma east, which connects Parma station on the traditional line to the high-speed line towards Bologna. Parma station is a meeting point of several regional and state railways, the Pontremoli, the Parma-Brescia and the Parma-Suzzara lines, but the junction can also be used by direct trains between the Pontremoli line and Bologna. The interconnection between the high-speed and traditional lines at Parma east, unlike the others, required the redesign of some trackwork—connecting trains use the line from Suzzara (subsequently joining the line from Brescia) and their connection with the traditional line in Parma is being rebuilt.

After passing the East Parma east junction, the line continues beside the A1. Near the village of La Razza in Campegine is P.M. Campegine, which has two crossovers that allow trains to transfer between tracks at up to 160 km/h (99 mph). Reggio Emilia AV Mediopadana railway station, which was designed by Santiago Calatrava, is located nine km further south, just to the north of the Reggio Emilia viaduct that overpasses the Reggio Emilia–Guastalla line near the fairground. It provides an interchange with a regional railway line and buses and was completed on 8 June 2013. The site was previously only equipped with two temporary crossovers with a speed limit of 60 km/h (37 mph) on transferring trains.

After P.M. Reggio Emilia AV, the line continues to follow the A1 until P.C. Rubiera. This location service is located between the villages of Fontana and Osteria and has two 160 km/h (99 mph) crossovers. Further south the line moves away from A1 to the east in order to bypass the town of Modena to its north on a curve with a radius requires AV trains to observe lower than normal speed limits.

To the north of the village of Villanova is Modena west junction that allows the routing of trains on to the line to Mantua and Verona towards Modena station. After Modena west junction, the railway cuts through the countryside north of Modena and then bend towards the south-east in the direction of Castelfranco Emilia and Manzolini. Near the town of Castelfranco Cavazzona is the Castelfranco east junction, where the line rejoins the traditional line. At this junction trains between Modena and Bologna change between the high speed and traditional lines. The voltage change between 25,000 V AC 3000 V DC occurs at this point.

At Anzola dell'Emilia is P.M. Anzola dell'Emilia, which is a junction that allows trains to connect to P.M. Lavino, on the traditional line in order to connect with take the belt railway around Bologna. Shortly before Santa Viola station, the ERTMS signalling system changes to the traditional Italian signalling system. In the vicinity of the Reno crossover there are two other interconnections with the historical line that run towards the set of crossovers of the site of the former Santa Viola station: one serves to facilitate the entry and exit of trains towards Milan and the other to facilitate the corresponding movement of trains towards Bologna. From the Santa Viola crossovers, it is possible, therefore, to reach the surface level of Bologna Centrale station, as well as to route trains to the Porrettana and Verona–Bologna lines.

Shortly after the entrance to the tunnel of the Bologna Passante, which allows the line to pass under the city of Bologna, is Venezia (Venice) junction, a double-track grade-separated interconnection that opened for operation in December 2017, allowing trains coming from the Padua line to enter the underground station.

The trains finally arrive at the underground level of Bologna Centrale, making a stop and then continue towards Florence along the high-speed line.