![Stazione alta velocita, Zaha Hadid, Napoli Afragola](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Stazione_alta_velocita%2C_Zaha_Hadid%2C_Napoli_Afragola.jpg)
Naples Afragola is an
Italian high-speed railway station near
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
that was inaugurated on 6 June 2017, with regular traffic for passengers starting from 11 June 2017.
The station is located in the city of
Afragola
Afragola (; nap, Afrahola , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in Italy. It is one of the 100 largest Italian cities (the ones that have a population of more than 63,000 inhabitants).
The communal territory, measurin ...
, in the
Naples metropolitan area
The Naples metropolitan area ( it, Area metropolitana di Napoli), or Greater Naples, is a metropolitan area in Campania, Italy, centered on the city of Naples.
Overview
Naples urban area and metropolitan area is the second most populous in Ita ...
, and was developed to serve all high-speed trains on the
Rome–Naples high-speed line, aside from those that do not start or finish at
Napoli Centrale station, but instead operate over the
Naples–Salerno high-speed line.
Napoli Afragola station was conceived of under a wider plan calling for 13 new stations at various sections along Italy's existing high-speed rail network.
Designed by British-Iraqi architect
Zaha Hadid
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...
, Afragola station, nicknamed the ‘Gateway to the South’, is considered a major transport hub and regional gateway for Naples,
operating as a major rail interchange for Italy's southern region, serving four individual high-speed lines, three inter-regional lines, and a single local commuter route.
Construction
Italian state railway operator
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) is the Italian railway infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), a state-owned holding company. RFI is the owner of Italy's railway network, it provides signalling, maintenance and other ser ...
(RFI) developed the station.
In 2003, a contract was awarded to architect
Zaha Hadid Architects
Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in Clerkenwell, London.
Architectural work Conceptual projects
*Price Tower extension hybrid project (2002), B ...
for the station design.
On 4 November 2003, Zaha Hadid formally presented the design, then projected to open in 2009. The project was delayed in part due to budgetary shortfalls.
At one stage, RFI had awarded the €59.5 million contract for the station's construction to a consortium, but subsequent disputes over the price caused RFI to reissue its call for offers.
[ Construction activity was stop-and-go through early 2015. In February 2015, a new construction contract was awarded to the multinational construction firm ]Astaldi
Astaldi S.p.A. is an Italian multinational major construction company based in Rome. The group is active in the fields of civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, Electromechanical Engineering and transportation.
Significant subsidiaries incl ...
.
From its inception the building was envisioned as a bridge over its four tracks, with four levels and a maximum height of . Accommodating the station's concourse, the bridge has an area of , as well as provision for an additional . Placing the concourse directly above each platform minimizes passenger walking, without prioritizing the communities at one end of the station over the other.
The station design responds to its adjacent business park and landscape, to encourage further nearby development. The four-level station incorporates public amenities, retail outlets, and waiting areas while remaining spacious and open; the space above the main waiting area accommodates restaurants, bars and stores, as well as a bus station and 1,400 parking spaces.
The exterior features large glass panels forming winding shapes, described as evoking a moving train.
To adapt the station to its context, it includes views of the nearby Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ...
. The design addressed seismic requirements by dividing the building into zones no greater in length than 50 metres; enabling the sections to move individually in a seismic event.
Considerable attention was paid to the station's overall environmental design, which was developed by engineering practice Max Fordham. Reportedly, a key objective of the structure was to have minimised energy consumption, favour passive operations over active interventions, and as little environmental impact as possible, in both the construction and operational phases. One major example of this design attention is the glazed roof, which features internal shading and acoustic baffles, limiting the amount of direct sunlight and glare on the concourse as well directing excess heat away via purpose-built roof vents; this enabled natural ventilation practices to be used under normal conditions. While mechanical ventilation systems are also present in the building, such as the roof-level extractor fans, these are intended to be used only during the extremes of summer and winter. Wherever realistically possible, passive means of environmental regulation were used. This includes cooling with ground water. Benches are actively cooled for comfort.
The active tracks, especially those of the Rome-Naples high-speed line, also presented challenges in both the planning and construction processes, although the speeds on these lines were limited to 160 km/h (100 mph) while traversing the construction area. During the construction phase, the presence of the operating high-speed lines split the site into two separate and somewhat disconnected zones; materials and equipment had to be transported between either side via an existing ring road, while an existing underpass served as a pedestrian crossing for workers. In order to protect the high speed line from potential disruption during the work, a temporary roof structure composed of steel elements and a metal sheet topping, was set up around it. The building of scaffolding decks, overpass beams and other elements of the upper levels of the station, had to be built with consideration for the operational electrification system of the running lines, somewhat complicating the work.
The curved structural elements of the station building were constructed using technologies developed and previously deployed by the architecture firm. These were formed primarily of concrete, which had been supported and shaped by prefabricated steel units combined with temporary moulds created by CNC
Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a p ...
- milling, allowing for complex shapes, durability and strength. Building Information Modelling
Building information modeling (BIM) is a process supported by various tools, technologies and contracts involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. Building informatio ...
(BIM) was adopted as a support tool, while 3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based representation of any surface of an object (inanimate or living) in three dimensions via specialized software by manipulating edges, vertices, an ...
proved useful for communicating process information within the technical office and with third parties.
20,000 square metres of matte cladding was installed. A total of 5,000 tonnes of steel were required for the scaffolding
Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
decks and curved roofs, while 200 km (125 miles) of cabling and in excess of 2,000 LED light
An LED lamp or LED light bulb is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps
and can be significantly more efficient than mos ...
s were installed across 4,000 metres of lighting tubes, which were integrated into the steel roof beams. On a stage, there were 330 workers on site daily, peaking at 700.
Opening
On 6 June 2017, five days ahead of its official opening, the first stage of Napoli Afragola was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by the Italian Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...
Paolo Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
, who commented on its purpose: “Any great country needs great projects that are a leap forward...The new station at Afragola is the foundation of the infrastructure programme to promote economic development in the south.”["Napoli Afragola - Italy’s remarkable new station."](_blank)
''Rail Engineer'', 28 June 2017. Since 11 June, the station has been served by 36 high-speed trains each day; of these, 18 are Frecciarossas operated by the state rail company Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...
and 18 are Italos by the privately-owned open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
company NTV NTV may refer to:
Television
* NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh
* NTV (India), Telugu regional channel
* NTV (Kenya)
* NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia
* NTV (Newport Televis ...
. These have been projected to carry a combined 10,000 passengers daily. Further services are to be added to the station, such as a planned increase to 28 trains in either direction, once additional infrastructure work in the region has been completed; phase two of the station is scheduled to be completed during 2022, to coincide with the opening of the Naples-Bari high speed line.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napoli Afragola Railway Station
Afragola
Afragola (; nap, Afrahola , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in Italy. It is one of the 100 largest Italian cities (the ones that have a population of more than 63,000 inhabitants).
The communal territory, measurin ...
Railway stations opened in 2017
Zaha Hadid buildings