Recovery and optimization of a former railway transport track

Abstract

According to the new European standards on pollutant emissions and improving air quality levels, the choice of low environmental impact systems of transport is fundamental. The requalification of disused railway transport today assumes an important role for the sustainability of the city and its building infrastructures. In particular, the reutilization of abandoned infrastructures, such as brownfield railways, allows the possibility of realizing travel systems with low pollutant concentrations. Railway rehabilitation designs respond to the actual requalification policies that are discouraging new exploitations, stopping degradation phenomenon and protecting incessancy of the environment, by means of not affecting the environment with new infrastructures. This paper presents the application of actual urban strategies, presenting a design proposal of requalification and optimization of the former railway transport track in Calabria, a region of southern Italy. Results show the possible solutions in terms of environmental and economic benefits obtained thanks to the use of an urban sustainable design. Moreover, social and tourist implications are highlighted.