29 May 2024 – The  Strait of Messina Bridge significantly reduces average crossing times. Indeed, it will only take 15 minutes for direct train services between Villa San Giovanni and Messina Centrale. Currently, without a bridge, train services take 120 minutes for passenger trains, and at least 180 minutes for goods trains.

10/13 minutes by road (between the Santa Trada and Giostra junction). Currently, under normal traffic conditions, the crossing takes 70 minutes for cars (San Francesco Terminal) and 100 minutes for goods vehicles (Tremestieri Terminal).
Under peak traffic conditions (the height of summer, holiday periods), crossing times of up to several hours are currently registered, with traffic jams building up along the A2 Autostrada del Mediterraneo and the other feeder roads to the ferry areas.

These figures come from the 2023 cost benefit analysis review, for which national and European operational guidelines were applied to assess expenditure on public works. The study has shown that building the Strait of Messina Bridge can make a substantial contribution to the enhancement of collective wellbeing, by bringing significant net benefits to the national community, and improving both economic and environmental aspects. Key summary indicators show an economic net present value (EVA) of €3.9 billion (as of 2023) and an economic internal rate of return (IRR) of 4.51%.

As well as reducing crossing times, the bridge serves to provide road and rail continuity, whilst boosting ports. A stable connection between Sicily and Calabria, open to trains and cars 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is the best way to meet demand for more efficient and modern connections between Sicily, Calabria and the rest of the continent.
Moreover, as part of the Trans-European Transport Network (Ten-T), within the “Scandinavian-Mediterranean” corridor, it forms a piece of the national and European transport jigsaw, and makes extension of the national and European high-speed/high-capacity rail system sustainable in Calabria and Sicily.