A major construction milestone has been reached with regard to Rome Termini Station’s new service and retail area for passengers and visitors. 60% of the construction is now finished.
Approximately 3000 square metres of the planned total of 6500 already have functioning escalators, lifts, information displays, lighting and toilets. The first part of this new space, built above the railway platforms, is scheduled to open to the public before summer.
At the end of the construction works, 5200 square metres for rail services, restaurants and outdoor seating will supplement the existing 30,000 square metres of services and commercial space already present in Rome Termini station.
The Italian infrastructure and transport minister Graziano Delrio visited the new service and retail area, still hidden behind construction walls but quite visible to the 450,000 visitors who pass through the station every day.
Greeting him as hosts will be Paolo Gallo, CEO of Grandi Stazioni, along with Maurizio Gentile, CEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
Overlooking the tracks, the entire area will be air-conditioned and the areas equipped with dining facilities and services will be “open to natural light” as in many airport open spaces, in a pleasant setting, fully integrated with the flow of passengers.
And after the new service and retail area goes live, the station’s central arcade, freed from all encumbrances due to construction, will return to its original beauty and openness.
“Thanks to these works,” said Paolo Gallo. “The Termini Station will be even richer with services and confirm its position as role model for functionality and elegance among European stations.”
“Providing new passenger services at Roma Termini is crucial for the role that the station plays both for local public transport and for medium and long-haul trains,” said Maurizio Gentile. “The goal is to create a more functional facility for passengers and for those who often visit the station.”
It is an extremely complex construction site, very large and located in the most crowded area of the station: a real engineering challenge. Italian design, construction management and implementation.
The project is being created above the existing station, but has its own foundations, isolated also seismically from the existing complex. The construction is being carried out in a small space and without any interruption of railway operations.
All the materials, from steel beams to excavation debris, is transported to and from the site at night – while the station is closed – via a special building site train that runs on the tracks.
Beyond that, Grandi Stazioni is also building a parking garage over the tracks, with over 1400 slots.
The total investment to build the service and retail area and the parking garage is 125 million euros, financed by public funds and Grandi Stazioni.
(Source: FS Italiane)
