Bergamo T2 tramway meets EU funding deadline, clearing way for 2026 opening

Bergamo T2 tramway meets EU funding deadline, clearing way for 2026 opening ITALY: The T2 tram line from Bergamo to Villa d’Almè has entered the final phase of construction. Main civil works were completed by the June 30 deadline attached to Italy’s EU-funded PNRR investment programme, clearing the way for testing and pre-operational trials ahead of opening by the end of 2026. The 11·5 km route will link Bergamo with Villa d’Almè, largely following the alignment of the former Brembana railway, which has been converted into a modern double-track tramway. From its terminus at Piazzale Marconi in Bergamo, T2 will share its first four stops with the existing T1 Bergamo – Albino line before diverging at Bronzetti onto a dedicated alignment to Villa d’Almè. The line is being built on behalf of Tramvie Elettriche Bergamasche, the company that operates Bergamo’s tram network, by a consortium comprising construction company Milesi Sergio, railway infrastructure contractor GCF Generale Costruzioni Ferroviarie and Czech rolling stock supplier Škoda. The route is one of Lombardia’s largest sustainable urban mobility investments. The project is being delivered under Italy’s National Recovery & Resilience Plan, or PNRR, which channels funding from the EU’s post-pandemic recovery programme. GCF Executive Director Giuseppe Brecciaroli said the June milestone had been met through close collaboration between the consortium partners and the client. He hoped that the completed infrastructure would become a benchmark for public transport in the Bergamo area. Operations to start this year The tramway passes through the northern Italian municipalities of Bergamo, Ponteranica, Sorisole, Almè and Villa d’Almè, serving a catchment area of around 240 000 inhabitants. It includes 13 stops, seven park-and-ride facilities, 29 tramway crossings and approximately 10 km of shared pedestrian and cycle paths. The electrification system comprises a 750 V DC overhead contact line supplied by seven traction substations. Signalling and control equipment includes distributed interlockings, centralised supervision and a optical fibre communications network linking the stops, substations and operations control centre. A key element of the project is the new depot at Petosino, which has capacity for up to 11 trams and includes maintenance workshops, washing facilities, covered stabling tracks and a 400 m² photovoltaic installation. Once operations begin at the end of 2026, the tramway is expected to carry around 4 million passengers annually while reducing road traffic in western Bergamo by approximately 10%. A growing fleet The fleet for T2 consists of 10 new Škoda trams, each 33·5 m long and with a maximum capacity of 281 passengers, including 66 seated. Nine of the 10 trams have been delivered to Bergamo. The tenth, the first to be completed at Škoda’s Plzeň plant in the Czech Republic in February this year, is currently being retained at the manufacturer’s facilities for further testing and will be delivered to Bergamo in October. The vehicles will join the 14 AnsaldoBreda Sirio cars already in service on Line T1, creating a total fleet of 24 trams capable of operating on both lines. The Škoda trams already delivered are undergoing night test runs on T1. In a second phase, the vehicles will be used for pre-operational running on T2. Subscribe to gain access to all news Already have a subscription? Log in. Choose your subscription Considering a corporate subscription? Contact us to find out more.