Amália Ferreira has lived for over forty years on Rua de Ramos, in Canelas, in the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia. In the summer, he received a letter and a visit from technicians who told him that the future high-speed line could pass between his house and neighboring apartments. “They’ve already come here to see the house and take photographs, but we don’t know anything else,” he tells Correio da Manhã, about plans for a TGV station in this Portuguese city.
The land where he lives, next to the industrial zone of São Caetano, could be included in the expropriation area to build the new TGV station, now planned for Vilar do Paraíso. “I’m sad because I raised my children and grandchildren here and now I may have to leave my little house”, he laments to the same source.
Hundreds of families in uncertainty
According to Correio da Manhã, the move from Santo Ovídio station to Vilar do Paraíso will involve more than a hundred expropriations, affecting not only homes but also companies in the industrial zone. The project appears as an alternative to the solution initially foreseen in the concession of the Porto–Lisbon line, where the stop at Santo Ovídio was planned in a tunnel.
According to the same publication, the proposal was presented by the consortium responsible for building the section, which considers the underground project “inoperable” and too complex to execute. Infraestruturas de Portugal is analyzing the draft “from a technical and legal point of view”, in a process that the Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, described as an attempt to “optimize solutions”.
Minister calls for caution
Correio da Manhã says that Miguel Pinto Luz asked for “caution and consideration” before any definitive decision, stressing that any change to the station location must respect the signed concession contract. The government official recognizes, however, that the current consortium proposed an alternative model that could reduce costs and simplify execution.
Even so, the same source states that the construction of the stop in Vilar do Paraíso will require expropriating private land and relocating part of the community. Technical visits carried out in recent weeks have confirmed the progress of measurements and photographic records on properties, which fuels fear among residents.
“We don’t know anything”
“They say the line will run right here between my house and the apartments”, repeats Amália, describing the feeling of insecurity that dominates the neighborhood. “I hope they change their minds and come through the other way.”
The newspaper adds that many residents and businesspeople complain about a lack of information and lack of dialogue with the authorities. Some received only technical communications, without any details about compensation, deadlines or relocation alternatives.
Expropriations and works under analysis
According to , the responsible consortium estimates that around 35 companies and more than a hundred homes could be affected. Infraestruturas de Portugal guaranteed that the environmental impact study and legal analysis of the draft project are ongoing and that no definitive decision has been taken.
The contract for the high-speed line between Porto and Lisbon foresees a duration of 25 years and a total investment of around 1,600 million euros. The first phase works should connect Porto to Soure, with a length of 137 kilometers.
As bureaucracy progresses, discomfort grows in Canelas and Vilar do Paraíso. Between photographs taken of the facades and measurements on the ground, there are those who are anxiously waiting for answers. “We just wanted to know what’s going to happen. This is our life”, summarizes Amália, looking at the house that, soon, may no longer belong to her.
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