The first major work for the Expo is already ready to open, just under two years from the start of the great Expo 2015 review, for which the Mayor Giuliano Pisapia flaunts confidence: "We'll make it in time". In the meantime, the twist of fate has wanted that of the two new metro lines planned, 4 and 5, it is the second that will be ready first: the "lilac" line will open its first section to passenger services next Sunday, 10 February, at 11.
To be exact, there are currently seven new metro stations, from Zara (with correspondence with the "yellow" line 3) to Bignami, on the northern outskirts of the Milanese capital, on the axis of viale Zara and viale Fulvio Testi. A section of 4,1 kilometers that already covers important and busy poles of the Lombard capital, including the Maggiore hospital, the Bicocca State University and the Cto hospital.
The works on this first section alone, which began in 2007 and which cover an area of Milan that has always had little connection, have a total value of around 550 million euros, including the trains in service and the construction of the Isola and Garibaldi stops, which will be opened by the end of this year. According to plans, the entire line will be completed by the end of October 2015, with an overall route of 12,8 kilometers and 19 stations, from the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in San Siro to Bignami. So, at full capacity, only after Expo is over.
The journey time between Bignami and Zara is 8 minutes, compared to the 20 taken by trams in the reserved lane for the same section. The metro also uses an innovative technology for the Milanese lines: in fact, the trains are not equipped with drivers (UTO driverless system, Unattended Train Operation), with safe control of all the elements of the system: points, signals, electrical distribution, etc. This system, which complies with the most recent European regulations, guarantees passengers high safety standards, allows frequencies to be optimized according to demand and costs to be reduced.
The "driverless" lines are already operational in France, in Copenhagen (city where the automatic metro has been managed by ATMs since 2008, and where the staff who will work on the Milanese M5 have been trained) and, in Italy, in Turin. All platforms are separated from the platforms and trains by security doors, which only open when the train is in the station.
Line 5, distinguished by the lilac colour, was built in project financing by the Metro 5 Spa concessionary company owned by Ansaldo STS, Ansaldo Breda (Finmeccanca group), Astaldi and Alstom.
