Wednesday 8 October 2025 4:30pm to 6:45pm
Cambridge University Department of Engineering Trumpington Street Cambridge CB2 1PZ
About
About the Speaker
Andrea Pigorini is an experienced mining engineer who has been working for more than 35
years in design and construction of major infrastructural projects in Italy and abroad, with specific
and extensive experience in tunnelling and underground works.
He formerly worked in construction companies, and he expanded his professional background
by working for a leading geotechnical engineering company, where he was in charge of designing
and managing several road, railway and metro tunnelling projects.
He has been working at Italferr since 2002, and he has been responsible for Tunnelling
Design Department from 2002 to 2015. Since 2015, he has been heading the Infrastructure
Engineering Department. From 2011 to 2017 he was also involved in the construction of the Brenner
Base Tunnel as ProjectManager overseeing the supervision of the works of two construction lots.
From 2013 to 2022, he served as the President of the Italian Tunnelling Society and is
now its Past President. During his term the Italian Tunnelling Association hosted the WTC 2019 in
Naples, one of the most successfully edition ever.
Since September 2022 he has been serving as a member of the Executive Council of the
International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES), and he was recently
elected President for the 2025-2028 term.
He has conducted numerous training sessions on tunnelling and authored several papers on
tunnel design and construction topics, published in conference proceeding and journal: he also
contributed as co-author to the three-volume book published by SIG in 2022 – 2024, titled
“Handbook on Tunnels and Underground Works”.
Poster session and refreshment from 4.30 (LR4)
Lecture 5.30-6.45 (LT2)
Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, CB2 1PZ
This event is free to attend. However, please register on eventbrite before 3rd October.
CSIC Distinguished Lecture
Italian High-Speed Rail: Experience and Data from 1,000 km through Bologna, Florence and
the Apennines – Shaping the next 1,000 km towards southern Italy
The development of high-speed rail in Italy progressed along its main north–south axis, from Turin
to Salerno, between 1990 and 2010, with the Florence–Rome section having been started earlier and
completed first, in the early 1990s.
Over 1,000 km – often referred to as the “Metropolitana d’Italia” – have contributed to shortening
the perceived distance between major cities by significantly reducing travel times and transforming
the travel habits of millions of passengers.
These sections are now being complemented by new lines currently under advanced construction:
eastwards (Milan–Verona–Padua), towards the Ligurian Sea (Milan–Genoa), and in central-southern
Italy (Naples–Bari), which will bring the overall high-speed network to approximately 1,500 km.
Design choices for crossing both large urban areas and mountainous terrain have frequently relied on
extensive tunnelling works, which account for over 20% of the total length of the network.
Monitoring data collected during tunnel excavation – both with TBMs and conventional methods –
and during operation - both tunnels and bridges - will be presented, providing insights into the impact
of excavation techniques and structural design choices. The evolution of tunnel configuration design
– comparing double-track tunnels and twin single-track bores – will also be reviewed, highlighting
how project solutions have evolved over time in response to European railway tunnel safety
regulations.
These considerations have led to a redefinition of design approaches for the planned and partly
ongoing extension of the high-speed rail network towards southern Italy.