Metro do Porto

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Metro do Porto train at Jardim do Morro stop (line D)

The Metro do Porto is a light rail system in the Porto region in northern Portugal . Six lines currently operate on the 70 km long metro network, serving 80 stations in Porto and the surrounding cities of Maia , Matosinhos , Vila do Conde , Vila Nova de Gaia , Póvoa de Varzim and Gondomar . The standard-gauge lines are mostly above ground and double-track on a separate track body . The underground section of the route is 9.5 km.

The light rail is operated by Metro do Porto S.A. , which is owned by the public sector. This is also responsible for the “Guindais Funicular” cable car, which opened on February 18, 2004, but not for urban bus and tram traffic ( STCP ) and suburban trains ( CP Urbanos do Porto ).

history

A light rail system was proposed as a replacement for the first time as early as the late 1980s, when the tram closings in Porto had reached their peak. Initially, however, all tram lines were replaced by buses except for parts of lines 1 and 18. In 1992, all nine municipalities of the Porto Metropolitan Region ( Junta Metropolitana do Porto ) approved a light rail project, so that Metro do Porto S.A. could be founded on January 21, 1993 . In January 1996, the first stage of the project with four lines on a 70 km network was presented. After the financing, partly with EU funds, was finally clarified on December 16, 1998, construction work officially began on March 15, 1999.

The first test drives began on December 3, 2001 on the section between the Gueifões depot and Avenida Vasco da Gama in Senhora da Hora . On February 24, 2002, the Portuguese railways, at that time still under the name Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses , ceased operations on the narrow-gauge railways in northern Porto, whose routes were then completely rebuilt for the standard-gauge metro. On June 29, 2002, the test operation with passengers began on the line A between Câmara de Matosinhos and Viso . With the completion of the first section of the inner city tunnel to Trindade on December 7, 2002, the Metro do Porto was officially opened in the presence of the then Prime Minister José Manuel Barroso . On New Year's Day 2003, the Andante electronic ticket system was introduced; no fare had been charged before.

After the opening of the new Infante Bridge a little upstream in March 2003, the upper carriageway of the Dom Luís Bridge was closed to road traffic and can now be used by the metro. On March 31, construction began on the second trunk line, Line D (Linha de Gaia) , which crosses the main line in Trindade .

On November 3, 2003, the tunnel construction work for the first expansion stage was completed, so that the first inner city tunnel for lines A – C and E could be fully commissioned in time for the European Football Championship on June 5, 2004. On March 24, 2004, a branch line from line B with the number E to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport was approved, which was not originally included in the first expansion stage; it was opened on May 27, 2006. On March 13 (line B) and July 30, 2005 (line C), lines B and C were opened, which use the same main route as line A. Since line B needs a very long journey time for the route from Porto to Póvoa de Varzim due to the numerous stops, express trains are also offered hourly.

Line F (Linha de Gondomar) was opened on January 2, 2011, expanding the route network beyond the Estádio do Dragão station to the eastern suburbs of Valongo and Fânzeres .

Line network

Line C train on the former narrow-gauge line in the north head of Trindade station
Typical stop of the Metro do Porto, here Matosinhos Sul
View of the Estádio do Dragão train station
line Route (not yet opened endpoints in brackets) opening Stations Travel time (in min) Cycle (HVZ in min) Double
traction
A. Estádio do Dragão - Trindade - Casa da Música - Senhora da Hora - Senhor de Matosinhos June 29, 2002 23 39 10
B. Estádio do Dragão - Trindade - Casa da Música - Senhora da Hora - Verdes - Póvoa de Varzim March 13, 2005 35 66 15th x
C. Campanhã - Trindade - Casa da Música - Senhora da Hora - Parque Maia - Ismai (- Trofa ) July 30, 2005 25th 43 15th x
D. Santo Ovídio - Trindade - Hospital São João September 17, 2005 14th 19th 6th x
E. Estádio do Dragão - Trindade - Casa da Música - Senhora da Hora - Verdes - Aeroporto May 27, 2006 21st 37 15th
F. Fânzeres - Rio Tinto - Estádio do Dragão - Trindade - Casa da Música - Senhora da Hora January 2, 2011 24 39 10

1st expansion stage

  • 70 km in total, of which:
    • 50 km of former narrow-gauge lines
    • 7 km of tunnel
    • 13 km on the road, mostly on its own track (mainly line A in Matosinhos)
  • 66 stops

The route network essentially consists of two main routes that intersect in the Trindade station . They are connected by an operating line at Trindade.

  • 1. Main route lines A – C and E:
    • 6 underground stations, in 3 individual tunnels
  • 2. Main line line D
    • 8 underground stations in one tunnel

2nd expansion stage

  • various extensions of the existing lines outside of Porto:
    • Line D: Extension in Vila Nova de Gaia from the current terminus Santo Ovídio to Vila D'Este by 3.2 km. There will be two more stopovers: Manuel Leão and Hospital Santos Silva. The project was approved in February 2017.
  • New lines:
    • Line F: Senhora da Hora - Fânzeres. The line went into operation in January 2011. It leads from the northern end of the trunk line through the same and then further in an easterly direction, with 10 new stops were created.
    • Line G: Casa da Música (on the main line) - São Bento (on line D). The construction project was approved in 2017. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2019 and commissioning is scheduled for 2022. The route will be completely underground.
    • Line H: Matosinhos Praia - Vila d'Este
    • Line I: Campanhã - Gondomar

stretch

Route network

The main line of the AC and E lines runs between Senhora da Hora and Trindade mainly on the route of the disused narrow-gauge railway, only the tunnel at Casa da Música was newly added. Cuts and short tunnels alternate. From Trindade, a new tunnel connects to the Campanhã train station , after which the route runs parallel to the railway on the surface to the Estádio do Dragão . The city center is only affected, however, the Bolhão station , close to the Rua de Santa Catarina shopping street , is important .

In Senhora da Hora , line A branches off to the west, it runs on its own track structure next to roads in the direction of Matosinhos . In the city center there, the trains run over the redesigned pedestrian boulevard and end on the grass track at the Senhor de Matosinhos stop , near the port of Leixões . A branch for the museum tram has already been installed near the Brito Capelo stop .

Lines B, C and E continue on their own track structure next to streets to the junction point Fonte do Cuco with four tracks, two side platforms and a wedge-shaped central platform . Line C uses the two eastern tracks here and now runs overland over the narrow-gauge railway line until it reaches more urban areas again in Parque Maia . The trains can extend their maximum speed on this section, which is laid out as a rapid transit system . The steep ramp to the level of the satellite town of Maia begins in front of the Parque Maia high station . Behind Parque Maia there is a short section in a pedestrian zone where the Forum de Maia stop is also located. After a short section of grass track, the line sinks again and leads out of Maia again as a rapid transit railway and ends shortly after Maia at the university campus of the Instituto Superior da Maia (ISMAI). The line on the narrow-gauge railway line to Trofa has not yet been reactivated, but is being considered.

Lines B and E continue across the country from Fonte de Cuco . The origin of the route as a regional train is particularly clear here: fields and isolated houses line the route, the distances between stops are high, the maximum speed of 80 km / h can be used. A junction leads to the Gueifões depot, several highways cross. In Verdes , the line E sinks at the platform and leads through a short tunnel through an industrial park near Botica to the airport. Here there is turf track again along the streets, just before the Aeroporto train station there is another short tunnel.

On the other hand, line D, which crosses the main line in Trindade, is almost completely separated from the rest of the network. A tunnel was built in the city center, which starts just behind the Ponte Dom Luís I and ends behind Polo Universitário . The rest of the route leads on its own track to Hospital São João or through Vila Nova de Gaia to Santo Ovídio , where there is a transition to suburban trains of the CP Urbanos do Porto . Line D opens up the city center and the old town better than lines A, B, C and E, as it opens up the city ​​center train station São Bento , the nearby Aliados , the boulevard Porto, and the town hall. Most of the STCP bus routes also operate on the Aliados . The crossing of the Ponte Dom Luís is interesting .

A train on line D crosses the Ponte Dom Luís

Line F to Fânzeres was put into operation in January 2011 as the first line of the 2nd expansion stage.

Train stations

São Bento Metro Station in Porto, from Siza Vieira

Double-track stations with side platforms , each 70 m long and 25 cm high, predominate . Exceptions are the stations Aeroporto and Senhora da Hora with three tracks, a central and a side platform, Estádio do Dragão with two central platforms and three tracks, Pólo Universitário with a central platform and high ceiling and the above-ground Trindade station with a side stub track . The only four-track stations are Fonte de Cuco and Verdes , both with side platforms. The tracks have been lowered at the stops in pedestrian zones.

The stations are usually designed by the architect Eduardo Souto de Moura , the design is standardized and mostly relatively simple. Gray granite, stainless steel, monochrome tiles, exposed concrete and glass predominate. Only the Aeroporto station is an exception with its curved glass roof. Otherwise, only the round roof opening in the Casa da Música station , the curved glass roof in Parque Maia and the sudden dive into a tunnel behind the Campanhã and Verdes stations are noticeable. At some stations on lines B and C, the reception buildings of the former narrow-gauge railway are still preserved, often with azulejos , and also near Casa da Música is the reception building converted into a bank, on which Boavista still stands . The São Bento Metro Station (located in the center of Porto in front of the Porto São Bento train station ) was designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira .

All platforms have dynamic destination displays that also show the time in minutes until the next departure.

vehicles

There are 72 five-part Eurotrams from Bombardier Transportation . These 35 m long, 40 ton heavy and up to 80 km / h fast trams offer 80 seats and a total of 215 people (at 4 people / m²); they are consistently low-floor . The Eurotram type is now marketed by Bombardier as part of the Flexity Outlook series . In addition to Porto, Eurotrams also operate in Milan and Strasbourg . In May 2006, 30 three-part Bombardier Flexity Swift vehicles were ordered for 115 million euros from a consortium of Bombardier and Vossloh Kiepe . The design of these light rail vehicles was conceived by the Belgian office Enthoven for Porto. The vehicles offer space for 248 passengers over a length of 37.1 m, 100 of which are seats. When using lines B to Póvoa do Varzim and C to the final stop ISMAI, they can reach their maximum speed of 100 km / h.

The first of the Bombardier Flexity Swift trains built in Vienna were delivered at the end of 2008 and tested for a year. They have been in regular operation since the beginning of 2010, initially as express trains on the red line B to Póvoa do Varzim. Since February 1, 2010, all traffic on the red line B has been handled with the new vehicles, in many cases with two coupled vehicles ( double traction ) to expand capacity . With the resulting Eurotrams, the capacity on the other lines could be increased considerably. Both vehicle types are serviced in the Gueifões depot, located on lines B and E.

Web links

Commons : Metro do Porto  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Postage approves two metro extensions. metro-report.com, February 8, 2017, accessed April 19, 2018.
  2. ^ Portfolio, Transportation: Swift Porto. Enthoven Associates website, accessed October 20, 2011 (link no longer available).
  3. ^ Bombardier Wins $ 114 Million US Contract for 30 Light Rail Vehicles from the City of Porto, Portugal. Bombardier press release, May 31, 2006.
  4. ^ Vehicles: Flexity Swift. Metro Porto (English, Portuguese).
  5. ↑ Metro do Porto: primeiro veículo “Tram-Train” já está a circular em regime experimental ( Memento of September 8, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). Público , November 25, 2008 (Portuguese).
  6. ↑ Porto: Metro aumenta capacidade de transporte ( Memento of September 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). Público , February 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ Toda a Linha Vermelha com Tram-train ( Memento from August 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ). Metro Porto, press release of January 29, 2010 (Portuguese).