Bari, 16 July 2021
The Bari Centrale station is now undergoing a significant evolution with the inauguration of a new façade, access point and services, on the side opposite the historic building.
The new station building is split across three levels, for a total area of over 3,000 square meters, overlooking Via Capruzzi and becoming a second large and structured entrance to the station. Its opening thus enriches the Bari railway hub with new and effective functions at the service of passengers and citizens alike, whilst redesigning the architectural and functional profile of the station, conferring a dual façade and greater accessibility along with improving the connection of the two city districts historically separated by the tracks, thanks also to the concomitant reopening of the underpass central.
The works carried out so far that, in addition to the new building, include the redevelopment of the underpasses have involved investments of 11.4 million euro, to which another 6.9 million will be added for the forthcoming Bus Terminal near the station, to total 18.3 million euro. The operations, co-financed by the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, were carried out by Grandi Stazioni Rail, a company controlled by RFI (FS Italiane Group).
Present at the inauguration in Bari this morning were Enrico Giovannini – Minister of Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility, Michele Emiliano – President of the Puglia Region, and Antonio Decaro – the Mayor of Bari. The CEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, Vera Fiorani, together with the CEO of Grandi Stazioni Rail, Silvio Gizzi, did the honours.
The new building, being 140 metres long and characterised by an entirely glass façade, will host a waiting room with self-service ticket office and five commercial premises on the ground floor, whilst the first and second floors will be used for offices. In conjunction with today’s inauguration, the red underpass is also reopening to the public, now equipped with new lifts servicing all platforms and a new underground path directly connected to the green underpass.
The station, used by over 270 trains and frequented by about 130,000 people each day, will be equipped with a new bus terminal by 2024 offering 18 bays, with a view to better integration between collective transport modes. The Terminal will be built in an abandoned railway area, overlooking Via Capruzzi and connected to the new building via a covered walkway.