Council information

Public information from Matosinhos City Council, which promotes the project linking Matosinhos Market to Verdes metro station (Maia), shows the airport station will be on National Road 107 (EN107). This road is also known as Avenida Fernando Távora. The station will not enter the terminal.

Regarding this issue, Lusa questioned the Matosinhos City Council about why there will not be a closer connection to the airport arrivals area and, given that it is expected to be used by people with luggage, what accessibility will be guaranteed for this type of user.

Coordination with the airport

The municipality, led by Luísa Salgueiro (PS), was also questioned about whether any coordination had been established with ANA Aeroportos to ensure a continuous walkway from the station to the arrivals area, and how the station would be integrated into the EN 107/Avenida Fernando Távora, but received no response.

Currently, there is no continuous walkway between the arrivals terminal and the EN107 area where the station will be built, an area that prioritises road traffic and also serves as a passage and parking area for tourists and long-distance buses.

Moving closer to the airport

Lusa also asked ANA Aeroportos whether moving the airport station closer to the arrivals hall was discussed among the Matosinhos City Council, the Maia City Council, and ANA. Lusa also questioned whether ANA would build a walkway connecting the area planned for the station on EN107 to the arrivals hall, to improve conditions for passengers walking from the station to the airport.

The Lusa news agency also inquired, if affirmative, whether there is a deadline for carrying out works in this regard, but received no response.

Architecture details

Regarding the project in general, whose works have already begun, Lusa has been requesting details from the Matosinhos City Council about the architectural and urban planning projects for the metrobus stations, particularly regarding their urban integration and shelters (which are not publicly available), since the project's inception, and reinforced this request in March of this year, without ever receiving a response.

On the City Council's website, only a general description of the project with its characteristics and stops, a map, and information about construction restrictions are available.

According to the description, the project involves 9.75 kilometres of track, of which 1.2 kilometres are in the municipality of Maia, with 11 stations: Mercado, Senhor de Matosinhos, Exponor/Leça da Palmeira, Veloso Salgado/Centro de Investigação, Inovação e Incubação da Universidade do Porto, MarShopping, Jomar, OPO City, Mário Brito, Aeroporto, Botica, and Verdes.

Interchanges with the Porto Metro are planned at Mercado, Senhor de Matosinhos, Botica, and Verdes stations.

The service will have an average speed of 25 kilometres per hour and differentiated track profiles, including double track, single bidirectional track, and integration into regular traffic; in other words, it will not be a pure metrobus, completely separated from other traffic.

It will also operate at 15-minute frequency, with four trips per hour in each direction during peak hours and 20 minutes during off-peak hours, and will integrate with the Andante fare network.

The route, which will cross the A28 bridge over the Leça River, will be served by electric articulated buses with a minimum capacity of 140 seats.

"The metrobus represents an investment of €23 million (+VAT) in infrastructure and a further €4 million in vehicle acquisition. The project is financed by the Just Transition Fund, as part of the national commitment to decarbonised mobility and carbon neutrality," the municipality also states.