Inaugurated today in Afragola, in the province of Naples, "La Porta del Sud", the new high-speed railway hub in southern Italy, intended to serve the metropolitan area of Naples with 3 million inhabitants at full capacity . "The State will be present here in force and will guarantee the security of the territory", said Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, present at the inauguration on the sidelines of which there was no lack of clashes and protests. “We are a country that raises its head – Gentiloni also said – and this inauguration is full of symbols and the first is that with this inauguration we are giving the message of being a country that raises its head because a large country needs large works we can be the only country that considers the work of an architect as a conquest, a step forward that will leave a mark, a legacy”.
The new station was in fact designed in 2003 by the late British archistar Zaha Hadid, winner of an international competition organized by FS Italiane. The work, at least in this first phase, cost 60 million euros and develops over an area of over 30 square meters distributed over 4 levels: the first level is dedicated to railway traffic; the second level will host ticket offices and services for travellers; the third and fourth levels will host the commercial services, which will be opened progressively.
Starting today, there will be 18 pairs of Trenitalia high-speed trains (but Italo will also pass through the station) which will connect the station with the main cities of the Turin-Salerno line, as well as with Venice and Reggio Calabria, significantly reducing journey times because convoys will be prevented from entering Naples each time. From Afragola to Rome it will take only 55 minutes, and in the second phase expected by 2022 the station will also become a hub for commuters from the provinces of Caserta and Benevento, who will thus be able to go and return during the day from both Naples and the capital. The "Porta del Sud" will also be an intermodal hub, with 1.400 parking spaces available, of which 500 already active from 11 June.
