GATEWAY TO THE SOUTH

Italferr was in charge of Works Supervision for the new Naples Afragola station. The structure serves the provinces north of Naples and the territories of Caserta, Avellino and Benevento, guaranteeing direct connections to Rome and, through the so-called North/South link, to Salerno and Reggio Calabria. In 2022. With the completion of the new Naples-Cancello-Frasso Telesino line, direct connections to Bari and Foggia have also been activated. When fully operational, moreover, thanks to the interconnection with the Circumvesuviana ring, the hub will serve an urban basin of about 3 million inhabitants in the Naples metropolitan area.

The station is a strategic point in the regional and national transportation system and a splendid building to be admired in its architectural beauty, as well as a decisive opportunity to integrate urban territory and the world of transportation, redesign the city and redevelop entire neighbourhoods. The sinuous structure, which abstractly looks like a modern train sweeping by, was designed by architect Zaha Hadid, winner of the international tender held by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.

The central body of the station building is a majestic 400-meter-long structure that spans the tracks like a large bridge, connecting the areas crossed by the railway line and thus giving continuity with the landscape and the road network.

The building includes four storeys and covers a surface area of 30,000 m2
1st level – track level, dedicated to train traffic
2nd level – hosts the ticket booths and traveller service facilities
3rd and 4th level – dedicated to shops

The entire structure rises up to about 8 meters from the track level, and then tapers at the ends.  The roof of the station consists of glass panes covering more than 6 thousand square meters and the remaining surface is cladded with Corian. The project also includes an outdoor area of about 150 thousand square meters featuring green areas, a parking lot for about 1,400 cars (with spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility and disabilities), and 53 dedicated cab and kiss&ride spaces that also benefit from a dedicated lane.  There are also 15 parking stalls for city and suburban buses.

Napoli Afragola stems from the need to have another station, in addition to Napoli Centrale, serving the Campania capital and the entire region, to improve the efficiency and regularity of services while creating the basis for the development of the surrounding area.  The work makes it possible to arrive at the gates of Naples and is complementary to the main Campania station, thus becoming an integral part of the regional transport system. This makes it the true modal interchange hub between long-distance, regional and metropolitan traffic.

Zaha Hadid's project offers a totally innovative interpretation of a station, i.e., to create an infrastructural work that will become a catalyst and a representative icon of the redevelopment of a highly urbanised area such as that north of Naples. The construction that bypasses the tracks allows trains to stop faster and guarantees, from an architectural point of view, a better use of the civic space where people can meet, surrounded by the harmony of the structure.