Porto, Oct. 8, 2024 (Lusa) - According to a report to which Lusa has had access, the new Campanhã station building in Porto, which is scheduled to receive high-speed rail services by 2030, will be "like a bridge" over the railway lines.
"The concept underlying the project is evident, which translates into a simple gesture, presenting the new station building as a bridge, which, passing over the railway lines, "lands" on the two new squares, to the east and west," reads the report analysing and evaluating proposals for the first section of the high-speed line (Porto - Oiã).
According to the document, the solution submitted by the LusoLav consortium (Mota-Engil, Teixeira Duarte, Casais, Alves Ribeiro, Conduril and Construções Gabriel A.S. Couto), the only competitor, has "a different volume from that recommended in the Campanhã Urbanisation Plan for the buildings that will be adjacent to it", so the new Campanhã station building "will stand out from the rest".
"The services that are currently installed in the current station building" will be “relocated as a result of the reorganisation intervention that the bidder proposes to carry out in that building”, which will result in “a total gross construction area greater than the minimum value defined in the Preliminary Programme” of the tender specifications.
The design of the new building ensures that "the demolition of the existing clock tower guarantees clear access to the Pedestrian Overpass" to be built.
There is also a "proposal to valorise the current passenger building" at Campanhã station, which envisages "freeing up its entire entrance hall (currently partially occupied by CP ticket offices) and substantially improving the western access to the South Pedestrian Underpass (PIP)".
In addition, there is a "proposed change to the access to the South Pedestrian Underpass, which will now be made directly from the main atrium of the existing passenger building." For the competition jury, this "is a clear improvement on the current situation, which requires a winding route inside to access the stairs and lifts located on the line I platform."
The new west square, the station's current main entrance, is "a new tree-lined and exclusively pedestrianised area", and the intervention it will undergo "aims to solve the existing problems in the surrounding road system and access to the station".
"The description also clearly mentions the development of cycle paths on the main axes of the station area, contributing to the integration of soft modes into the road system," the document also states.
In addition to the car park, there are plans "for parking areas for motorbikes, bicycles and other soft modes (e.g., electric scooters)."
On Friday, the cabinet approved the call for tenders to award the concession for the conception, design, construction, financing, maintenance and provision of the high-speed railway line on the section between Porto (Campanhã) and Oiã (Aveiro).
The Lisbon-Porto high-speed line should connect the country's two main cities in around an hour and 15 minutes, with possible stops in Gaia, Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria.
The first phase (Porto—Soure) of the high-speed line in Portugal should be ready by 2030, and the second phase (Soure—Carregado) is expected to be completed in 2032. It will connect Lisbon via the Northern Line.
JE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
