Latest news and stories about public transport in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, Portugal for expats and residents.
The municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia rejected plans to build a high-speed train station in Santo Ovídio, demanding that authorities evaluate an alternative site in Mafamude and Vilar do Paraíso. Local officials warned that the current station project would cause prolonged disruption to the city. The municipality's formal objection comes days before the scheduled groundbreaking for the high-speed rail line.
Frente Cívica has urged the Government to enforce the high-speed rail concession contract in Vila Nova de Gaia, demanding the planned Santo Ovídio station location remain unchanged despite reported pushback from the Mota-Engil consortium.
The Gaia City Council has reiterated its opposition to the planned high-speed rail station in Santo Ovídio, citing severe disruptions including five years of works, heavy daily truck traffic, and risks to local commerce and hospital operations. Municipal leaders are instead pushing authorities to evaluate an alternative site in Mafamude and Vilar do Paraíso prior to construction.
The Vila Nova de Gaia City Council has declined to join opposition councillors in a collective effort to lobby the Portuguese Environment Agency regarding the reduction of demolitions and the placement of a high-speed rail station.
The Mota‑Engil‑led consortium plans to submit a revised environmental project to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) for the two Porto–Lisbon high‑speed (TGV) subsections in Gaia that the APA deemed non‑compliant on 20 December. The new submission is expected by the end of Q1; it must address the APA’s compliance concerns — likely shortcomings in environmental impact assessment, mitigation measures or route design — for the scheme to progress. Approval timing will be decisive for the project’s schedule and costs: if the APA accepts the revisions, the programme can move on to later permitting and procurement stages; further objections or additional information requests would delay construction and raise political and commercial risks for the consortium.
The association further warns that the Government must ensure the concession contract, which provides for a station in Santo Ovídio, is enforced.
At issue is the station's location, as the contract signed between Infraestruturas de Portugal and the concessionaire AVAN stipulates that the stop will be in Santo Ovídio, with a connection to two metro lines.
The proposal will be voted on Tuesday and includes new vertical signage. The bus lanes promised by the council in May are not currently planned.
Socialists want an 'impact mitigation contract' regarding the construction to be signed between the municipality, the Government, Infraestruturas de Portugal, and the line's project managers.
Socialists want an 'impact mitigation contract' signed regarding truck movements at the construction site.
The former president of the PSD and current mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia laments the critical voices regarding Pedro Passos Coelho's interview with SIC. Luís Filipe Menezes also discusses the TGV, which will connect Lisbon to Porto.
![Read the history of the party [PSD] and live with the criticism](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbordalo.observador.pt%2Fv2%2Frs%3Afill%3A770%3A403%2Fc%3A770%3A433%3Anowe%3A0%3A0%2Fq%3A70%2Fplain%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fs3.observador.pt%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F09%2F24112758%2F770-podcast-explicador.png&w=3840&q=75)
On Friday, the Vila Nova de Gaia City Council rejected once again the construction of a high-speed railway station in Santo Ovídio and demanded that an alternative in the area of Mafamude and Vilar do Paraíso be evaluated.
Gaia City Council recalls that this position from the municipality is already known and has been consistently communicated to the relevant authorities since November 10, 2025, five days after the current executive took office.
The stoppage covers approximately 350,000 general career public administration workers.
The body was transported to the Institute of Legal Medicine.
Luís Filipe Menezes wants the municipality's structural roads to serve the metrobus, connecting the coast and the interior to the Yellow and Ruby lines of the Porto Metro.
Gaia will have the deepest high-speed station in the world, highlights the CEO of Casais. António Carlos Rodrigues points to this factor and others encountered during ground prospecting work to justify the proposed changes - since rejected by the APA - put forward by the LusoLav consortium, which will build the first section of the high-speed line between Porto and Lisbon, corresponding to the route between Porto and Oiã, and which has applied to build the second section between Oiã and Soure.
Rail traffic on the Northern Line was fully restored by 14:40, approximately two hours after a person was struck near the Aguda halt in Gaia, which had forced a suspension in both directions, according to CP.
One person is in a serious condition near the Aguda train stop.
A collision near the Aguda train stop has forced the closure of the Northern Line in both directions. The alert was raised at 12:31 PM, and one fatality has been confirmed.
A proposal made public by Mayor Luís Filipe Menezes to include the removal of the A29 toll gantry in the State Budget was approved in a private meeting. The toll gantry on the A32 has also been added to this proposal.
The Vila Nova de Gaia City Council unanimously approved a proposal this Friday for the removal of toll gantries on the A29 and A32 motorways to be included in the 2027 State Budget, a municipal source revealed to Lusa. During the private meeting, which was still ongoing at 19:00, the executive approved the proposal that had previously been made...
The Mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia considers that specific toll gantry to be an injustice to users.
At issue is the ban on heavy goods vehicles circulating on the VCI between 07:00 and 21:00 on weekdays, which will come into force on 15 September.
Jardim do Morro, a major tourist spot in the Porto area, will become a fenced park with new regulations and operating hours. The Vila Nova de Gaia City Council is investing 700,000 euros in the project to improve safety in and around the garden. The site, popular for its sunset views over the Douro River and Porto, will feature permanent CCTV, enhanced lighting, iron fencing, two main entrances, public toilets, a children's play area, and a restored grotto. Work is scheduled to begin in February and conclude in May, coinciding with the garden's centenary celebrations. Additionally, the APA has approved the high-speed rail line project between Porto and Gaia, while a new Porto Metro line to Gondomar involves the removal of hundreds of trees and 24 demolitions.
The increase in metro service frequency and car traffic to the planned parking facility 'will overload the crossing of Avenida da República', according to the Gaia City Council.
The plan aims to promote 'more sustainable mobility'. It seeks to contribute to the 'humanisation' of the city's territory, as an obligation arising from the Climate Framework Law.
The local authority had announced it expected to transport up to 15,000 per hour, but has now reduced that expectation, acknowledging the “error”.
The Mayor of Gaia congratulates the Mayor of Porto for the free transport measure for its residents. Menezes states that these measures provide quality of life to the residents.
