The requalification of the current railway station on the Oeste line at Leiria-Gare or the construction of a new station in Barosa are the two alternatives for the location of the High Speed Line station in the municipality of Leiria.
The alternatives were presented this Monday by Infraestruturas de Portugal, at a meeting that brought together the City Council executive, representatives of some parties with seats in the Municipal Assembly, representatives and presidents of Parish Councils and Unions, and presidents of Acilis, Nerlei and the Polytechnic of Leiria.
The purpose of the meeting was to report on the work being done to define the route of the high-speed line between Soure and Carregado, which has only one stop, precisely at Leiria.
At the meeting, the pros and cons of each of the options were debated, which will still have to be submitted to an environmental impact study, with the respective public consultation period, since in both cases we are looking at joint stations for the High Speed Rail and the West Line.
In the case of the current station, one of the positive aspects will be its contribution to the redevelopment of the area and its proximity to the city, but this solution will have a strong effect on the existing buildings, as well as increasing travel times and environmental constraints.
In the case of Barosa, it is a solution that will have a greater impact on the region, but implies the development of solutions that guarantee effective connectivity to the city, not only with regard to the High Speed Train but also to the West Line, which would use the same station.
The meeting was organized by the municipality as part of its strategy of involving representatives of the local community in the debate on issues with the greatest impact on the municipality, and a number of contributions were gathered which will be taken into account in the work being carried out.
At the meeting, the mayor, Gonçalo Lopes, stressed the importance of this participatory process, bearing in mind the impact of the high-speed rail network on the future of the region.
At the session, the vice-president of IP, Carlos Fernandes, said that, in parallel with the High Speed Line, the modernization of the West Line, between Caldas da Rainha and Louriçal, will be carried out, with an expected investment of 300 million euros.
With the completion of the Lisbon-Oporto High Speed Line, the city of Leiria will be just 40 minutes away from Lisbon and 50 from Oporto, reducing the journey time to Lisbon by two hours and thirty minutes and to Oporto by two hours and seven minutes by train.
The new high-speed line will guarantee a connection between Lisbon and Oporto in just one hour and 15 minutes (on the direct service), offering 60 daily services, and it is estimated that the number of passengers, combined with the Northern Line, will be 16 million.