New rail station by Zaha Hadid a key project for Italy

Architect: Zaha Hadid ArchitectsPhotography by Jacopo Spilimbergo From the architect: The first phase of Napoli Afragola Station – the new gateway to the south of Italy – has been inaugurated by prime minister Paolo Gentiloni. The new rail station at Napoli Afragola is designed as one of southern Italy’s key interchange stations serving four high speed inter-city lines, three inter-regional lines and a local commuter line. In addition to the planned high speed rail services connecting Bari and Reggio Calabria with the north of Italy and Europe, by 2022 new rail infrastructure will create an important hub at Napoli Afragola serving the entire Campania region by integrating the southern expansion of Italy’s high-speed rail network with the Napoli Cancello line and the Circumvesuviana commuter railway extension. Located at this major intersection, Napoli Afragola connects the 15 million residents of Campania, Puglia, Molise, Calabria and Sicily in southern Italy with the national rail network in the north and the rest of Europe. It also enables goods and passengers from Europe and northern Italy to access the southern ports of Gioia Tauro, Taranto, Bari, Brindisi, Palermo and Augusta. To meet future demand for rail travel throughout the region (which has increased by 50% in the past decade) the Napoli Afragola station is within the new north/south rail corridor in the east of the greater Napoli metropolitan area that will be wholly integrated with local and regional rail services. Once all lines are operational, 32,700 passengers are expected to use the station every day (approximately 12 million passengers each year) with 4,800 commuters using the station each morning and evening rush-hour. 28 high-speed trains serving each direction will stop at Napoli Afragola daily, providing an express service in each direction every 30 minutes (40 minutes outside peak times), with approximately 700 passengers planned to alight or board from each platform. A further 200 regional and local train services will call at Napoli Afragola daily, creating a key interchange within the national, regional and local rail networks. "This extraordinary station is the work of a great architect and of enormous strategic value,” explained Gioia Ghezzi president of Ferrovie dello Stato, Italian state railways. “We wanted to build a station that is not only for transit but which, over time, will be a source of renewal for the south, creating jobs and growth." “Any great country needs great projects that are a leap forward,” said Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni. “The new station at Afragola is the foundation of the infrastructure program that promotes economic development in the south.” “We have allocated €47 billion over 12 years and the vast majority of this investment is for new rail infrastructure, which will contribute to sustained growth in southern Italy,” continued prime minister Gentiloni. “With this inauguration, we send a message that Italy is moving, the country is growing. Here is a wonderful combination of artistic and engineering expertise.”

Story by: Trends