Green light for “4 Assi di Forza”, the project for zero-emissions public transport

23 March 2023

A temporary grouping of companies (RTI) comprising Leonardo, ICM and Colas Rail has won the integrated tender for the City of Genoa's “4 Assi di Forza” (4 Axes of Strength) local public transport project, the first municipality in Italy to award a tender of this level of complexity and innovation in the context of urban mobility. 

Anatomy of the project

The 4 Assi di Forzalocal public transport project  provides for the creation of a trolleybus system along the main routes criss-crossing the Ligurian capital. The network of routes will extend for 96 kilometres from East to West and in the valleys, passing through the city centre, and will be run using 145 trolley and electric buses. It is an ambitious project envisaging civil engineering works, installations and technological infrastructures that will be implemented in progressive stages. The system pools the expertise and experience of Leonardo, ICM - a company specialising in construction and infrastructure works - and Colas Rail, an international player specialising in electrification systems.

Trolleybuses will run on three of the four axes - central, east and west - while the axis passing through the Val Bisagno will have electric buses using the innovative flash charging system, which enables the vehicle to be recharged also during the short wait at stops.


Benefits for the city

The project has multiple aims and benefits for the city of Genoa. The first of these is raising service quality in terms of comfort and safety during the journey - some of the new stops will be designed to offer a high level of comfort - while also increasing the speed of the vehicles and ensuring adherence to timetables and frequencies.
A better and more reliable service will encourage the increased usage of public transport by citizens, giving a fundamental contribution to sustainability through the absence of polluting emissions from the electric vehicles.
Particular attention has also been paid in the project to users with reduced mobility, to ensure that urban transport is as inclusive as possible.


The role of Leonardo

Leonardo is contributing to the ‘4 Assi di Forza’ project by making its technological expertise available to improve the efficiency of the new public transport service. Monitoring solutions, supported by artificial intelligence-based advanced video analysis algorithms, will enable data processing and traffic light control (SIGMA+), making it possible to oversee the correct use of dedicated lanes.
The Leonardo AVM platform used by the city’s mobility and transport company (AMT, Azienda Mobilità e Trasporti di Genova) will help to raise the quality, usability and inclusiveness of the service by providing information and content on the multimedia signage and displays of the new smart bus stops, constantly updating passengers and supporting the disabled with Emergency Call Points for requesting assistance. Leonardo will also supply its SCADA application to monitor and integrate data from the charging stations and to enable interaction with the AVM management platform


Sustainable mobility and the region

For Leonardo - which is a member of the Centro Nazionale per la Mobilità Sostenibile (National Centre for Sustainable Mobility), the international ITxPT association, and is already a leading player in numerous sustainable mobility projects in Italy (starting in Genoa itself, where it already provides solutions for underground and bus services) and abroad - the company's participation in the “4 Assi di Forza” project is consolidating its mission to help guide the green and digital transition in the transport sector and also strengthening its connections with the Liguria region. Here it is fostering a virtuous relationship with universities, SMEs, and research and competency centres to enhance and fertilise their assets and capabilities, promoting innovation and the coordinated development of the whole regional ecosystem.

 

For more information: cyberandsecurity@leonardo.com

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