Line 4 is an underground

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

line in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, part of the

Milan Metro The Milan Metro () is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of five lines with a total network length of , and a total of List of Milan Metro stations, 125 stations (+2 in con ...

. The line is long with 21 stations. The line was opened in stages between 2022 and 2024. It features automatic driverless trains and is designed for a capacity of 24–28,000 passengers per hour in each direction. The expected annual ridership is 87 million.

Construction

The first three stations of the line (Linate-Repetti-Forlanini) was originally planned to be completed in 2015, as part of the works for the Milan Expo. However, delays in planning, financing and construction works forced to postpone the opening, with the first section opening on 26 November 2022 and the rest of the line expected to open by 2023. The line is long with 21 stations, with its final 13 stops opening on 12 October 2024. The consortium ATM-

Webuild Webuild S.p.A. (previously Salini Impregilo S.p.A.; ) is an Italian industrial group specialising in construction and civil engineering. The company was formally founded in 2014 as the result of the merger by incorporation of Salini into Impregi ...

is responsible for the construction works. Of the total estimated cost of about €1.7 billion, the

Government of Italy The government of Italy is that of a democratic republic, established by the Italian constitution in 1948. It consists of Legislature, legislative, Executive (government), executive, and Judiciary, judicial subdivisions, as well as of a head of ...

will cover €786 million via a grant, the municipal government of Milan will cover €400 million, and €512 million will be funded by private investors.

Route

The line connects the south-western neighborhood of ''Lorenteggio'' with

Linate Airport Milan Linate Airport is a city airport located in Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy. It served 10.6 million passengers and recorded 118,060 aircraft movements in 2024, making it one of the busiest airports in Ital ...

on the east, passing through the city center. All stations are underground.

Rolling stock

The line uses Hitachi Rail Italy Driverless Metro automatic driverless trains. The line will be operated by 37 four-car EMUs manufactured by

Hitachi Rail Italy Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

. Because of production problems caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, some were sent to Hitachi Newton Aycliffe in England for final fitting out.Milan Metro cars in Newton Aycliffe ''

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly United Kingdom, British railway magazine, aimed at the Railfan, railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the ...

'' issue 1436 November 2020 page 9

References

{{Urban rail transport in Milan 4 Railway lines opened in 2022

Construction

Route

Rolling stock

See also

References