High-speed rail network planned

(First Edition)

Italy's state railways and a group of banks were putting the finishing touches yesterday to a plan to launch a multi-billion pound high-speed railway network, Reuter reports from Rome. The plan, which calls for the raising of an initial 900bn lire (pounds 355m) of capital, is a first key step in building high-speed rail links between Turin and Venice in the north and Naples in the south. It forms part of a pounds 9.5bn programme that will be one of Europe's largest construction projects.

A special board meeting of the public-private TAV consortium is due on Monday to propose the capital increase plan to shareholders, a spokesman for the Ferrovie dello Stato state railways said.