Shifting traffic from road to rail, reducing environmental pollution, and optimising passenger and freight transport connections – these are the goals of the project to extend the Italian Apennine Transversal between the towns of Orte and Falconara. A dielectric fischer fixing system for electrical installations was used on the Orte–Foligno section of the railway line.

The aims of the extensive expansion of the Apennine Transversal between Orte and Falconara are to enhance passenger transport connections between the important coastal regions of the Tyrrhenian Sea (west) and the Adriatic Sea (east), create an efficient freight transport route along the north-south corridor and reduce journey times for commuters, tourists and all other passengers between cities such as Rome, Ancona, Perugia and Falconara. The railway line crosses the Apennine Mountains and connects key regions of Italy. As part of the project, certain sections of the line will be doubled in order to increase capacity and efficiency. 

The work is divided into several phases and includes the modernisation of the infrastructure. The expansion will be carried out in accordance with the latest safety standards. For the extension of the Orte–Foligno section, the fastening specialist fischer supplied the dielectric anchoring system to secure the backbone cables of various systems and installations. 
The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), an advanced, standardised European signalling and speed control system that ensures the interoperability of national railway systems, was implemented as a result. The backbone cables are also essential for GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications - Rail). This international wireless communication standard for rail transport ensures reliable communication between trains and railway control centres. The telecommunications (TLC) systems have also been secured. This includes communication systems for the safe and efficient operation of trains and railway infrastructure, which are crucial for the transmission of data and voice communication between trains, signal boxes, and operations centres. Installations for track control, lighting and traction unit systems also fix the systems on the track.

The dielectric cable fastening system from the fixing expert fischer is non-conductive and is used to prevent stray currents and the unwanted electromagnetic interference that they can cause. Such systems meet the RFI specifications (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) for cable trays, which impose high demands on the safety and efficiency of cable routing. The fischer injection system FIS EM Plus was used with threaded rods and dielectric DD centring clips to ensure the electronic shielding. The system solution ensures the insulation of the anchor rods against the passage of stray currents and thus protects them from corrosion. On the construction site, M12 DD-E and DD-S clips were used together with M12 threaded rods, on the ends of which eye bolts were screwed to carry the load of the cable duct. The fischer FIS EM Plus received the technical declaration of suitability from RFI for the application because it meets the technical specification of STC STS ENE SP IFS TE 673 A from RFI. In these and other projects, the centring clips ensure not only electronic shielding but also the exact alignment of the anchor rod in the drill hole, and also prevent the threaded rod from falling out in overhead applications – even with anchor rods of considerable length and weight and chemical anchors with long application times. Their use does not require larger hole diameters than those specified in the ETA. This results in considerable mortar savings compared to the use of conventional electrical insulation devices. All this leads to cost and time reductions during installation. The calculation of the injection system is straightforward using the C-FIX module in the FiXperience design software.

“Our FIS EM Plus injection system with threaded rods and DD-E-DD-S centring clips guarantees an electrical resistance of more than 1,000 Ω at a DC voltage of 1,000 V, without the need to increase the drill hole diameters listed in the European Technical Assessment ETA-17/0979, and thus making a CE marking possible,” emphasises Pierluigi Germoni, project manager at fischer Technical Sales Account Project Business at fischer Italy. This is an uncomplicated and cost-effective way to ensure that rail safety and efficiency are maintained over the long term.