Old Boavista train station burned at dawn

In the early hours of Friday, a fire broke out in the old Boavista train station in Porto, where the city’s El Corte Inglés is planned.

The causes of the fire, which started around 3 a.m., have yet to be determined. The truth is that a criminal investigation team is following the case.

Port Sapper firefighters battled the flames with 12 officers. The entire roof and the clock in the building were destroyed.

Through a statement, the Movement for a Railway Garden in Boavista has already arrived, this Friday, to regret what happened, suspecting “arson.”

The Movement does not stop noticing the strange coincidence that this detrimental act of the public patrimony occurred practically after the publication of the news that gave rise to the request for qualification of the station as a property of municipal interest, to which several parties politicians with seats in the assembly The Porto city council spoke favorably, and at a time when the building is under enormous pressure for its demolition to make way for a commercial space ”.

Likewise, the Movement said that “it hopes that the competent authorities will investigate the causes and those responsible for the fire against the first railway station of Porto, inaugurated in 1875”, also waiting for “Infrastructures of Portugal to comment on this
an act that damaged the public property under its tutelage and that the Porto City Council hastens to grant the request for qualification of the station as property of municipal interest, providing it with the necessary and necessary protection “.

It should be remembered that the project of the Spanish chain revolves around controversy, on the part of political forces and citizen movements.

At stake is the intention of El Corte Inglés to settle on the grounds of the old Boavista train station after the Spanish commercial chain paid 18.7 million euros to Infraestruturas de Portugal, owner of the land, submitting it to the Chamber of Porto. in October 2019, a Prior Information Request (PIP) for the construction of a large commercial warehouse, a hotel and a commercial and service housing building.

This PIP, which in October had a favorable opinion from the Municipality, headed by Rui Moreira, with “the indication of the various conditions that must be met in the scope of a license application for the fractionation operation.”

In reaction to this, on October 30, next to a banner that read “Do we really need another shopping center? Porto – A city for the people”, placed by BE do Porto in the Casa da Música and Cerca of pedestrian access to the grounds of the old Boavista train station, deputy Pedro Lourenço accused the Câmara do Porto of “secrecy” and the guardianship of “lack of transparency.”