Dossier

water and landscape
AGUA y TERRITORIO

Urban requalification projects along the water. Promoting the preservation of the railway heritage on the banks of the Douro River (Oporto/Portugal)

Proyectos de recalificación urbana a lo largo del agua. Promover la conservación del patrimonio ferroviario a orillas del Duero (Oporto/Portugal)

Fernanda de Lima Lourencetti

CIDEHUS-University of Évora
Évora, Portugal
flima@uevora.pt

ORCID: 0000-0001-5649-8774

Información del artículo

Recibido: 14/04/2023
Revisado: 30/11/2023
Aceptado: 8/12/2023
Online: 02/06/2024
Publicado: 10/01/2025

ISSN 2340-8472

ISSNe 2340-7743

DOI 10.17561/at.25.7918

CC-BY

© Universidad de Jaén (España).
Seminario Permanente Agua, Territorio y Medio Ambiente (CSIC)

ABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to promote Oporto’s railway heritage located on the banks of the Douro River. The railway connection between Lisbon and Oporto was part of the first Portuguese railway plans. However, due to the natural features of the Douro River, the implementation of the railway in Oporto was only possible at the end of the 19th century, and a connection to the river was built in 1888. Meanwhile, the port of Leixões was already replacing Oporto’s port services. At the end of the 20th century, the initial configuration of the Oporto railway was altered and part of its infrastructure was deactivated. Currently, some of the areas occupied by the old railway are undergoing interventions, but the urban requalification proposals do not clearly present initiatives to preserve the railway heritage. For this reason, it is important to promote knowledge about the history of railways in Oporto.

KEYWORDS: Porto, Douro River, Customs, Heritage, Railway.

RESUMEN
El objetivo de este artículo es dar a conocer el patrimonio ferroviario de Oporto, a orillas del río Duero. La conexión ferroviaria entre Lisboa y Oporto formaba parte de los primeros planes ferroviarios portugueses. Sin embargo, debido a las características naturales del río Duero, no fue hasta finales del siglo XIX cuando el ferrocarril se estableció en Oporto, construyéndose un enlace con el río en 1888. En este momento, el puerto de Leixões ya había sustituido a los servicios portuarios de Oporto. A finales del siglo XX, la línea férrea de Oporto perdió su trazado original y parte de la infraestructura ferroviaria fue desmantelada. Actualmente, parte de las zonas ocupadas por el antiguo ferrocarril están siendo objeto de intervenciones, pero las propuestas de recalificación urbana no presentan claramente iniciativas para preservar el patrimonio ferroviario. Por este motivo, es importante promover el conocimiento de la historia del ferrocarril en Oporto.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Oporto, Río Duero, Aduana, Patrimonio, Ferrocarril.

Projetos de requalificação urbana ao longo da água. Promover a preservação do património ferroviário nas margens do rio Douro (Porto/Portugal)

RESUMO
O objetivo deste artigo é promover o patrimônio ferroviário do Porto situado às margens do rio Douro. A ligação ferroviária entre Lisboa e o Porto fez parte dos primeiros planos ferroviários portugueses. No entanto, devido às características naturais do rio Douro, a implantação da ferrovia no Porto foi possível apenas no fim do século XIX, sendo construída uma ligação com o rio em 1888. Nesta altura, o porto de Leixões já vinha substituindo os serviços portuários do Porto. No final do século XX, o traçado ferroviário portuense perdeu a sua primeira configuração e parte da infraestrutura ferroviária foi desativada. Atualmente, parte das áreas ocupadas pela antiga ferrovia está a sofrer intervenções, mas as propostas de requalificação urbana não apresentam de forma clara iniciativas de preservação do patrimônio ferroviário. Por esta razão, importa promover o conhecimento sobre a história da ferrovia no Porto.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Porto, Rio Douro, Alfândega, Patrimônio, Ferrovia.

Projets de requalification urbaine au bord de l’eau. Promouvoir la préservation du patrimoine ferroviaire sur les rives du Douro (Porto/Portugal)

RÉSUMÉ
L'objectif de cet article est de promouvoir le patrimoine ferroviaire de Porto sur les rives du Douro. La liaison ferroviaire entre Lisbonne et Porto faisait partie des premiers plans ferroviaires portugais. Cependant, en raison des caractéristiques naturelles du fleuve Douro, ce n’est qu’à la fin du XIXe siècle que le chemin de fer a été établi à Porto, et une liaison avec le fleuve a été construite en 1888. À cette époque, le port de Leixões avait déjà remplacé les services portuaires de Porto. À la fin du XXe siècle, la ligne de chemin de fer de Porto a perdu son tracé original et une partie de l’infrastructure ferroviaire a été déclassée. Actuellement, une partie des zones occupées par l’ancienne voie ferrée fait l’objet d’interventions, mais les propositions de réaménagement urbain ne présentent pas clairement d’initiatives visant à préserver le patrimoine ferroviaire. C’est pourquoi il est important de promouvoir la connaissance de l’histoire du chemin de fer à Porto.

MOTS CLÉ: Porto, Fleuve Douro, Douane, Patrimoine, Chemin de Fer.

Progetti di riqualificazione urbana lungo l’acqua. Promuovere la conservazione del patrimonio ferroviario sulle rive del fiume Douro (Porto/Portogallo)

SOMMARIO
L’obiettivo di questo articolo è quello di promuovere il patrimonio ferroviario di Porto sulle rive del fiume Douro. Il collegamento ferroviario tra Lisbona e Porto faceva parte dei primi progetti ferroviari portoghesi. Tuttavia, a causa delle caratteristiche naturali del fiume Douro, la ferrovia fu stabilita a Porto solo alla fine del XIX secolo e il collegamento con il fiume fu costruito nel 1888. A quel punto, il porto di Leixões aveva già sostituito i servizi portuali di Porto. Alla fine del XX secolo, la linea ferroviaria di Porto perse il suo tracciato originale e parte dell’infrastruttura ferroviaria fu dismessa. Attualmente, parte delle aree occupate dalla vecchia ferrovia sono oggetto di interventi, ma le proposte di riqualificazione urbana non presentano chiaramente iniziative per preservare il patrimonio ferroviario. Per questo motivo, è importante promuovere la conoscenza della storia della ferrovia a Porto.

PAROLE CHIAVE: Porto, Fiume Douro, Dogana, Patrimonio, Ferrovia.

Introduction

The Euston Station (1960) demolition, in England, a historical milestone for the safeguarding of industrial heritage, took place later than the beginning of the appreciation of the railway heritage. At the end of the 19^th century, the technical ability of engineers and the speed of locomotives already reserved a place for the railway in museums with a focus on art and technique. The exhibition of the Stephenson’s Rocket locomotive in the Science Museum of London in 1860¹ is an example of that. After the First World War, several railway lines were decommissioned around the world due to the advent of automobiles and technology changes, such as the replacement of steam by diesel and electricity.

In Portugal, the first discussions on industrial heritage occurred between 1977 and 1978. In 1980, the Association of Industrial Archaeology of the Lisbon Region (AAIRL) was created with the purpose of studying, preserving, disseminating and valuing industrial heritage. Five years later, in 1985, the exhibition Um Mundo a Descobrir, um Mundo a Defender took place at Central do Tejo in Lisbon. This exhibition promoted the creation of an Industry and Transport Museum. In 1986, the 1^st National Meeting on Industrial Heritage took place and, in the following year, the Portuguese Association of Industrial Archaeology (APAI) was created². Despite all these initiatives, according to Custódio (2012), Portugal was “still living off the legacy it received from the 1st Republic, the Estado Novo and the post 25th April Revolution”³. This means that at that time, in the field of industrial heritage, the country lacked greater theoretical development at a national level. However, in recent years, several analyses on different typologies of industrial heritage in Portugal have been carried out⁴.

Meanwhile, the appreciation of cultural landscape is becoming increasingly important in intervention strategies applied to industrial buildings and infrastructures inserted into the urban grid. At the beginning of the 21st century, the concept of “good practices” in the field of cultural and natural heritage protection has become extremely broad, starting from “a simply formulated need or main objective that serves to establish an innovative strategy of viable and realistic application”⁵. Heritage conservation started to be discussed as an opportunity for the development of a city or even a region. In this way, the positive aspects that the former industrial areas can promote for the city through their requalification became the basis of projects for the repurposing of industrial buildings.

Between 1978 and 1980, the archaeologist Christer Westerdahl started to apply the “cultural landscape” concept to coastal areas, coining the term “maritime cultural landscape”⁶. Initially, this concept referred to the remnants of underwater maritime culture, but currently its meaning is broader, including the ancient monuments used by humans in the maritime space, the port infrastructure being a part of it. Considering the real estate related to port areas, in addition to warehouses, hydraulic works (jetties, dikes, breakwaters, etc.), shipyards, port beaconing, lighthouses, bar markings, maritime stations and forts, railways become apparent as the main communication routes between them⁷. Therefore, the railways inserted into port zones are starting to be considered as a part of port heritage.

As stated by the architect Farinella (2016), water margins, as a source of energy, mobility infrastructure and waste receptacle, attracted the formation of settlements⁸. During the 19th century, these functions were accentuated, especially those related to port infrastructures, due to the advancement of technology. In Oporto, in Portugal, the old Customs House, built in 1325 on the orders of King Afonso IV, gave way to the construction of the new Customs House between 1859 and 1869, in the Miragaia area. This work was carried out by order of the engineer António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo (1819-1887)⁹, who at the time oversaw the Ministry of Public Works, Commerce and Industry. During this period, the navigation system on the Douro River was improved: a quay was built and the river bar was dredged. Simultaneously, several urban works were carried out, such as the construction of Rua Nova da Alfândega, a street where buildings were constructed for companies linked to navigation, insurance and forwarding agents.

However, located 6 kilometres from the mouth of the Douro River, Oporto has a shallow area close to its banks. At the beginning of the 19th century, this natural feature did not enable the existing port services to accommodate vessels with new technologies, such as the use of steam engines. Thus, due to the sinking of a steamboat on 29th March 1852, a committee to prepare all the necessary works for the construction of an artificial port on the north of the Douro River was created. This commission was constituted by the military engineers Belchior José Garcês (1809-1874)¹⁰, Sebastião Lopes de Calheiros Meneses (1816-1899)¹¹ and Plácido de Abreu (1809-1895)¹².

In that same year, the port of Leixões began to be built in the municipality of Matosinhos to replace the port in Oporto¹³. As a result, some of the port services were closed in 1884. To avoid losing its position in the urban network hierarchy, Oporto “had to prolong the viability of its port structures in order to survive as a city with the functions of a regional metropolis”¹⁴. Thus, if in the first half of the 19th century, the port area was the most important area of the city of Oporto, due to the constraints of port activities, in the middle of that same century, the importance of this area began to be transferred to the central area of the city¹⁵.

In the following century, the concept of the “waterfront” gained interest and value worldwide and has been used in the requalification works of the old port area of Oporto. Regardless of the type of obsolescence, the deactivation and/or relocation of port areas resulted in the emergence of extensive urban voids in a number of cities around the world. Consequently, as the industrial heritage was being converted to industrial museums, location for artistic manifestations, multifunctional commercial and educational space, cultural centres, residential complexes and other new public spaces¹⁶, the port zones became the target of intervention works.

Meanwhile, the port areas and the railway heritage started to be considered as landmarks in the “urban landscape”¹⁷. In addition to the implementation of the “waterfront” concept, after 1992, “heritage parks” were created as an urban solution for the preservation and reuse of large-scale infrastructures. Some specialists define this kind of solution as an attempt to unite cultural elements with the history of the territory¹⁸.

Linear infrastructures such as railways and ports have significant potential in urban requalification projects and are often converted to “linear parks”; a solution found in examples such as the High Line in New York or the Promenade Plantée in Paris. Currently, these requalification practices fit into the concept of “circular economy”, which, through repurposing of decommissioned structures and industrial spaces, seeks to avoid the disposal of materials resulting from the demolition of buildings, and the need for new materials for the construction of new buildings¹⁹.

In recent studies of the cultural valorisation of coastal areas, urban historians have begun to explore the relationship between the development of “waterfronts” and port areas. In 2016²⁰, Carola Hein proposed the concept “port cityscape”, to refer to all the territory near the water and occupied by ships, pipelines, the port services, warehouses, industries and their logistical spaces, administrative buildings and working-class districts²¹. In her studies, the railway infrastructure is classified as part of the infrastructure allied to the port area, along with the airport, the roads and the port itself.

At European level, in 2002, the European Territorial Cooperation Programme ESPON was created and integrated into the INTERREG transnational cooperation community initiatives. Among ESPON activities, the reuse of industrial spaces and buildings have been allied with initiatives in favour of sustainability. In a report published in 2020, it was mentioned that out of 144 port cities, 96 had received some kind of intervention for the regeneration of their urban fabric. Of the cities analysed, 54 had their “waterfront” as part of a global strategy, 16 included these spaces in more punctual projects, applied periodically, and 26 had drawn up plans or policies for these areas, but they had not yet been applied²².

In Portugal, despite its strong historical connection with the sea, most of the studies on railway heritage in the urban fabric are not related to the analysis of port areas. In fact, according to António Nabais (2021), studies on Portuguese port maritime heritage still need to be developed to systematise information and historical facts to provide the basis for enhancing the port heritage knowledge²³.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the railway heritage constructed near the shoreline has been considered as part of the port heritage and, combined with the concepts and concerns for cultural, natural and urban landscape, the field of “good practices” for its preservation and safeguarding should be enhanced. Sustainability issues have put the requalification of railway and port areas under the spotlight of public and private agents, at local, regional, national and international level. The city of Oporto is no exception.

Currently, Oporto municipality is considering requalifying part of the area previously occupied by railway lines near the Douro River. The goal is to create a route to foster sustainable mobility, with the aim of regenerating these areas. Therefore, in order to promote the preservation of the railway heritage during the intervention works in Oporto, this paper will outline the construction process of the railway infrastructure in the city; the spatial connection established between the railway and the water will be explored; and the management of the railway heritage along the water will be evaluated.

To achieve this, the article presents the history of the Oporto railway from the second half of the 19th century to the present day. The agents responsible for the construction of the railway and those related to the intervention initiatives of its former areas will be identified. To complement the literature used, contemporary texts as well as press articles from the time of the construction of the Oporto railway, such as publications from the Diário do Governo, the Ministry of Finance, the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry of Culture and Scientific Coordination and documents found in the Oporto Municipal Historical Archive were consulted. The promotion of knowledge regarding the contribution of the railway to the urban history of Oporto aims to instigate discussions about the urban requalification projects applied along the water line of this city.

When the railway reaches Oporto

The railway line between Oporto and Lisbon was part of the first Portuguese railway plans. Known as the North Line, its construction was approved in the same year that the works to build the port of Leixões began, through a decree of August 30, 1852. However, its concession was awarded later, on April 8, 1857, to the British entrepreneur Mr. Morton Petto. The project was drawn up by the engineers Wattier (1816-?)²⁴ and Boura, and approved on April 14, 1857²⁵.

The natural adversities of the Douro River influenced the construction of the railway. In addition to its shallowness, the stretch of the Douro River that separates Oporto from Vila Nova de Gaia is extensive, which motivated the carrying out of studies that concluded this second city to be the end point of the North Line. On June 7, 1864, the North Line from Lisbon reached Vila Nova de Gaia, having been financed by the Spaniard José de Salamanca y Mayol (1811-1883)²⁶ since 1859. The work was entrusted to the railway engineer D. Adolfo Ibarreta (1830-1893), but he abandoned the job in the same year that the service was entrusted to him, and the work was transferred to João Evangelista de Abreu²⁷.

Finally, to reach Oporto became a goal, but to cross the Douro River was still a significant challenge, which required the execution of several studies. Considering the positioning of the old port area of the city of Oporto, engineer Wattier proposed a railway connection that would run “by the sea through Ovar, flank the high mountains on the left bank of the Douro estuary and end at the lower part of Vila Nova de Gaia”²⁸. This link would allow for the extension of the railway in the future, both to the Alto Douro and to Galicia²⁹. However, an alternative plan was approved. Known as Campo do Cirne (Map 1), this was the first plan created by the Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CRCFP)³⁰ on July 14, 1869, for the extension of the North Line to Oporto. However, due to the political and financial crisis the country was experiencing³¹, the government was unable to execute the necessary land expropriations, thus this design was not applied.

In 1872, engineer Manuel Afonso de Espregueira (1835-1917)³², Director of the CRCFP, presented another route as a more efficient solution to cross the Douro River, the design was called the Seminar Route (Map 1).

The engineer Pedro Inácio Lopes (1840-1900)³³ made some changes to the design of the Seminar Route by raising the level of the rails by 2 metres on the bridge to improve it. His proposal was accepted on June 25, 1873, the final plan was approved on March 6, 1875, and the railway reached Oporto in 1877³⁴. The construction of the Maria Pia Bridge by the Eiffel & Co., founded in 1869, made this achievement possible. Engineered by Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923)³⁵ and Théophile Seyrig (1843-1923)³⁶, designed by Gustavo Arneliau, Joseph Collin and by the foremen Campagorau and Destandau³⁷, this bridge is still considered one of the “masterpieces” of Portuguese engineering³⁸. The connection between the bridge and the Oporto railway station was created between 1875 and 1876 by passing through a tunnel and a trench, under the old Seminary (currently Salesianos) grounds (Map 2)³⁹.

The railway station of Oporto was located outside the urban centre and with a topographic level far above the port area, on “the green fields of Pinheiro and Godim, also counting on part of the farm of Baron Vallado and Commendador Lima”⁴⁰. Thus, Campanhã Station, which was also known as Pinheiro Station, stands at an altitude of approximately 70 metres above sea level, and required the expropriation of land owned by Barão Vallado and Serafim Pinto Morgado for the construction of the Estação do Oporto Avenue⁴¹. Those responsible for the construction of Campanhã Station were part of the administration of the Minho Line⁴² (the Portuguese section of the railway connection between Oporto and Vigo), namely the engineer João Joaquim de Mattos and the section chief Álvaro Allão Pacheco, with the collaboration of the conductor João Antonio Maximo.

The project was designed by engineer Pedro Ignacio Lopes, the same engineer who changed the scope of the project for the rail link between Vila Nova de Gaia and Oporto, but the workshop buildings were designed by the engineer Mendes Guerreiro⁴³, and the passenger building by José Ângelo Cottinelli Telmo (1897-1948)⁴⁴. This architect worked for the Portuguese Railway Company between the 1920s and 1940s. The walls of this station are made of granite masonry, which have been plastered and painted white; The structure of the building is delineated by exposed granite, as in the window and door frames, the plinth, the pilasters, and the friezes⁴⁵ (Figure 1).

The station became a junction point for the North Line, the Minho Line (built in 1872) and the Douro Line (built between 1873 and 1882)⁴⁶. Connected to this station, another branch was constructed to reach the Customs House, on the riverbank, for the transportation of goods. The design was drawn up by engineer Justino Teixeira in February 1881. After some changes to the project, the railway that gave rise to the Ramal da Alfândega was built with a length of 3,800 metres⁴⁷.

The railway and its connections to the water

The land around Campanhã Station was completely transformed by the construction of wide avenues and new residential buildings. Some of the houses were built so rapidly that they were completed before the embankments were constructed, requiring the use of ladders to gain access to the entrances. The construction of the connection between this railway station and the waterfront also generated urban impacts such as the construction of tunnels on the escarpment between the city and the river —one of 1320 metres, another of 23 metres and a third of 80 metres—; a bridge over Rua da China; another bridge over Rua do Freixo; retaining walls; and trenches⁴⁸. The engineer Augusto Luciano Simões de Carvalho⁴⁹ was responsible for the majority of these works⁵⁰.

On January 10, 1884, Joaquim Bernardo Borges, owner of a farm in Rego Lameiro, requested a license to channel water from the public road, because after the construction of the Ramal da Alfândega, the pipe that crossed his land to fertilize his production had been intercepted⁵¹.

In 1886, a preliminary project was presented by the Commercial Association of Oporto to the government, proposing a place for the construction of the Alfândega Station (Map 3). However, “the merchants of Oporto opposed the location of the new station next to the Customs House because they considered it mediocre”⁵². The location of this station was planned in front of Ferreira Borges Street and Infante D. Henrique Square, with entrances in Fonte Taurina Street, Alfândega Velha Street, and Alfândega Nova Street. From this station, branches would be extended to the Customs House accompanied by cranes that would facilitate the direct loading and unloading of wagons onto ships. The station would be “the complement of the pier, in order to correspond to its purposes”⁵³. After a visit by Councilman Emídio Navarro, the proposal was accepted. However, to build a railway station in Miragaia would imply a large number of expropriations and the distancing of most of its users, as it would double the cost of transporting goods to D. Pedro Square (currently Liberdade Square), located in the city centre.

As the construction of all the necessary infrastructure was delayed, the Ramal da Alfândega was only inaugurated in 1888, without a station building. As a result, the railway occupied the riverbanks with a network of rails laid outside and inside the Customs House building, with a total length of 1,360 metres. In the vicinity of the rails, cranes were installed, to ensure the circulation and handling of goods between warehouses. Eventually, another railway station, the São Bento Station, was built nearby D. Pedro Square to connect the merchants to Campanhã Station.

Meanwhile, the port of Leixões was connected to Oporto by the Minho Coast Line, also known as the Oporto to Póvoa and Famalicão Line. “Indeed, on June 19, of that year [1873], the concession of a 0.90 m track railway between Porto and Póvoa do Varzim was given to Baron of Kessler and Temple Ellicot, at no charge to the Government”⁵⁴. On December 30, 1873, the Companhia do Caminho de Ferro do Porto à Póvoa was created and the line was inaugurated on October 1, 1875. This line was connected to the branch line of Leixões in 1884. This branch line, built by the company Dauderni & Duparchy⁵⁵, had the purpose of connecting the port of Leixões (still under construction) to S. Gens Quarry (Map 4).

In 1889, the amount of 942 contos (the currency of that period) was calculated for the construction of a railway link between the Oporto railway and Leixões. The Companhia das Docas e Caminhos de Ferro Peninsulares was created to operate this link, along with the lines built towards the north, passing through Salamanca until the border between Portugal and Spain. However, although in 1903, Campanhã Station was expanded by the construction of new quays and reconstruction of the carriage trough, this infrastructure was no longer sufficient for the existing transport service⁵⁶. For this reason, “in accordance with the opinion of the Higher Council of Public Works and Mines”⁵⁷, a project designed on October 31, 1902, for the construction of a new railway station near the urban area of Oporto, was approved by the government on April 30, 1903⁵⁸. The new railway station was called Contumil; its construction was requested by the Secretary of State for Public Works, Commerce and Industry on September 10, 1903, being approved by the government on the same day⁵⁹.

On June 9th, 1904, “the Councillor Pedro de Araújo talks with the Mayor about the importance of building a branch line between Oporto Customs House and Leixões, a railway line that the Oporto Trade Association wishes to take the initiative, as it is an improvement of vital interest”⁶⁰. However, this railway branch was not supposed to be designed in parallel to the existent marginal route. Finally, on the same day, the government authorized the construction of a railway branch between Customs House branch line and the port of Leixões; this was approved on July 4, 1905⁶¹.

In 1906, a railway project was approved by the government, but it presented the rails following the marginal route from the port of Leixões to the Douro River, where they were supposed to meet the Ramal da Alfândega. The construction of this section would require the total demolition of Miragaia, a neighbourhood considered by hygienists to be unhealthy. However, the high price of the works did not make this project feasible⁶². Finally, this section was replaced by the Linha de Circunvalação (Map 4).

This railway line was composed of the rail branch connecting the port of Leixões and Oporto, the rail branch between Campanhã Station and Contumil Station and a direct railway line connecting the port of Leixões and the Oporto Customs House, by a path away from Douro riverbanks⁶³. Eventually, the route between the port of Leixões and Contumil Station through Senhora da Hora was inaugurated in 1938, but the railway belt was never completed.

However, like other pre-industrial port cities occupied by extensive yards and docks, accompanied by factories, warehouses and railways, the city of Oporto suffered the impacts of technological changes. Besides the deactivation of part of the port infrastructure, these changes contributed to the obsolescence of the Customs House and, consequently, to the deactivation of the railway line that supported it. Thus, the need to reintegrate the areas occupied by these infrastructures into the urban grid, inserted them into the “waterfront” concept.

Urban requalification and railway heritage on the banks of Douro River

The preservation of the urban cultural heritage concerns emerged in Oporto in the 1970s. Consequently, the Commissariat for the Urban Renovation of the Ribeira/Barredo Area (CRUARB) was created by the central government in 1974⁶⁴, being shifted to the municipal authority in 1983. The interventions on the riverbanks, classified as “waterfront”, began in 1976, starting with the reconstruction of housing, followed by the renovation of some buildings and urban infrastructures. In this period, both the Oporto Customs House and the Ramal da Alfândega were in operation, however, in the 1980s, the services provided by the Customs House were transferred to the central area of Oporto, which was supported by the existence of some means of communication, such as São Bento Station and the airport. Then, in 1989, the Ramal da Alfândega was deactivated.

In an essay about the “waterfront” concept written by André Fernandes and João Souza (2016), the importance of areas previously occupied by former port infrastructure being included in urban requalification plans is highlighted. The “waterfront” is presented as a new “urban category”, due to its physical-geographic specificities, and it is portrayed as a term adopted by several experts and in documents of technical nature, produced by institutions such as the Municipalities and the Administrative Entities of the Port Areas.

In the case of railways, the passenger buildings have been the element that have gained more attention at the beginning of the preservation practices of this heritage. In many cities, such as Paris and London, their construction holds internationally recognized aesthetic, constructive, cultural and historical values. However, the complexity of railway infrastructures is based on a set of buildings that have, throughout their history, influenced the consolidation of the urban landscape of many cities.

In 1965, the ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) was founded. This Council is a non-governmental institution responsible for proposing the classification of historic monuments to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). From 1978⁶⁵ to 2003⁶⁶, ICOMOS proposed the classification of thirty industrial monuments⁶⁷. Semmering Railway (1848-1854), located in Austria, was among them. This was the first railway complex to be classified as a monument of cultural value by UNESCO in 1998; it was the first railway infrastructure to overcome a significant topographical unevenness.

In Portugal, the identification and collection of vehicles and other relevant elements of railway heritage were used for museological purposes, i.e., for the conception of exhibitions. Thus, in 1976, the Railway Museum Study Commission was created, which gave rise to a large collection, requiring the use of large spaces due to the size of the elements exhibited. For this reason, railway buildings “scattered around the country were reused, which, since the 1970s, have constituted the Museological Sections”⁶⁸. In 2015, the Ginestal Machado National Railway Museum was inaugurated in Entroncamento, which has a collection of approximately 36,000 pieces⁶⁹. In 2017, this museum and the Railway Museum of Lousado (Municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão) were included in the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).

Since July 2016, the Portuguese Directorate General for Cultural Heritage has established a collaboration protocol with the railway company Infraestruturas de Portugal S.A. (IP). The aim of the protocol is to carry out a railway heritage inventory and to integrate it into the Information System for Architectural Heritage (SIPA). In this catalogue, only six railway stations are under some kind of protection policy (Table 1). The classifications vary between Monument of Municipal Interest (MIM)⁷⁰ and Property of Public Interest (IIP)⁷¹. The first Portuguese railway station to be classified was Rossio Station, in Lisbon, in 1971, registered as a Property of Public Interest.

Railway heritage requalification policies in Portugal were also influenced by the European Association of Green Routes, created in 1998 in Belgium. In 2015, the country reached almost 250 kilometres of green paths⁷².

A publication about Setúbal (Portugal) port-railway infrastructure⁷³, illustrates the impact of the spatial relationship established between these infrastructures on the urban fabric. However, in Setúbal, only part of the port infrastructure was relocated, and this relocation meant the extension of the port services along the Sado River, and not the total deactivation of the port. In the case of Oporto, the port services were totally extinguished, leaving behind part of its legacy through some built remnants. Among these remnants are elements of the old Ramal da Alfândega and of the first railway connection between Vila Nova de Gaia and Oporto, deactivated in 1991 due to its inability to support new technologies, such as the increased speed of trains.

The urban requalification initiatives included the restoration of the Customs House by the architect Eduardo Souto de Moura⁷⁴, and its use as the Museum for the Transport and Communication Association. At the same time, the preservation of the Ramal da Alfândega was planned as a part of the works designed for the “Miragaia Operation”. This initiative proposed the creation of a terminal for a historic train that would run through the tunnels of Ramal da Alfândega to D. Maria Pia Bridge, but this plan was never carried out⁷⁵. Nevertheless, due to the efforts made in the urban requalification of Oporto, in 1996 its Historic Centre was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

At the advent of the 21st century, the urban requalification works continued after the beginning of the extinction of CRUARB; this process ended in 2003, and the Porto 2001 S.A. was created. This company was responsible for hosting and organizing the initiatives related to the classification of Oporto as European Capital of Culture, which occurred in 2001. The waterfront of Oporto, known as Baixa, was the focus of numerous proposals and projects presented for development within the scope of the event. However, many of these projects were not implemented. Finally, the Sociedade Porto Vivo S.A. drew up a project, called the 2008 Management Plan. This plan fostered the national and international valorisation of the city of Oporto⁷⁶. As a result, between 2010 and 2021, 786 buildings were restored in the area between the Historical Centre, the Luiz I Bridge and the Serra do Pilar Monastery⁷⁷.

Although the Ramal da Alfândega crossed part of the area covered by the intervention plans, the preservation of railway heritage is in a delicate situation. Since its deactivation, the area occupied by the old railway infrastructure has undergone interventions for an urban improvement that would promote the urban integration of the disused railway spaces and the connection of citizens with the Douro River. In part of the area occupied by the old railway complex of the Customs House, a car park was built, leaving a fixed crane used for loading and unloading goods, a mobile crane with lifting boom used for customs clearance of goods, and two wooden barriers. In the parking area, it is also possible to identify part of the 1,360 m of rails that ran towards the Customs House building (Figure 2). In this context, only the cranes and the wooden barriers are accompanied by information panels, while the preserved rails have no explanation that refers to the history of their connection with Campanhã Station.

The tunnels and the D. Maria Pia Bridge (Figure 3) still remain as features of the landscape on the Douro riverbank. However, these elements have no new use, which means that they have not yet been reintegrated into the urban fabric of the city of Oporto. The tunnels are part of an urban void and the D. Maria Pia Bridge, despite having been classified as a national monument by Decree no. 28 of 1982⁷⁸, is closed, and it does not have any access or explanation of its heritage value.

Meanwhile, due to the interest in improving the mobility and sustainability of the old railway areas, two hypotheses for the requalification of the area between Miragaia and Campanhã Station have been discussed⁷⁹: