Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, Sept. 2, 2025 (Lusa) - In a new publication on its website, the office of Catalan urban planner Joan Busquets highlights the "excellent metropolitan accessibility" of Santo Ovídio, in Vila Nova de Gaia, when the consortium wants to remove the high-speed railway station from the site.
"This section of the city already has excellent metropolitan accessibility. It is strategically located close to the main mobility corridors. It is served by two underground stations, two metro lines and several urban bus routes," according to a publication by the architect and urban planner responsible for the Gaia - Santo Ovídio Station Detail on his website.
The text, accompanied by images of the plan that had not yet been published on the BAU-B Arquitectura i Urbanisme website, emphasises that "the combination of excellent accessibility and the unique character of the site give the area a remarkable appeal".
"The arrival of the high-speed railway will generate new demands in terms of mobility and will attract economic and residential developments, contributing to the emergence of a new metropolitan centre," said the website of Joan Busquets' firm.
In the presentation of the plan drawn up by the Catalan architect and urban planner, it is stated that "access to the new station will be via two glass entrances located at the north and south ends of the park" proposed in the detailed plan, to create "a truly hybrid urban fabric in a place of exceptional accessibility and urban vitality".
"The new buildings adjacent to the park will have predominantly tertiary uses, in addition to some residential and hotel spaces," the office also emphasises, highlighting Santo Ovídio as an "area where three main structural axes converge".
At stake are "the historic axis, which traces the old road that connected the upper and lower parts of the city", the "modern axis, represented by Avenida da República, developed in the second half of the 20th century, extending southwards from the route initially traced by the Luís I bridge over the river Douro", and "the natural axis, made up of green areas and a water drainage corridor that leads to the river".
That part of the city is also characterised by a steep topography, with significant variations in elevation from north to south, justifying the creation of a new linear park along the slope. This allows for a connection between different levels and strengthens the pedestrian connection with the surrounding urban fabric, it says.
The location of the Gaia high-speed station and the solution of a road-rail bridge over the Douro have been planned since September 2022, when the project was first presented. Still, the AVAN Norte consortium will propose the Gaia high-speed station to the south of Santo Ovídio and two bridges over the Douro, solutions that differ from those envisaged in the specifications.
In June 2024, Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) even came to Vila Nova de Gaia to publicly present the Santo Ovídio Detailed Plan, with Joan Busquets, including the underground station (60 metres) "500 metres long, with passenger platforms 420 metres long by 5.0 m wide", allowing speeds of 120 km/h for vehicles that don't stop there, and the transformation of the Santo Ovídio roundabout into a square, with an area for picking up and setting down passengers for the Porto train and Metro.
IP then emphasised the creation of an "intermodal transport hub", including soft mobility and a car park, serving Gaia "and the entire southern part of the Porto Metropolitan Area and, through articulation with the Porto Metro system, also the western part of the city of Porto".
The National Railway Plan, published in Diário da República (DR) in April, establishes that the Gaia station is in Santo Ovídio, connecting to the Yellow and Ruby metro lines.
JE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
