Inside the Quotidiano del Sud, an article presents the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane (FAL) project to put into operation, in 2026, the first five trains in Italy powered exclusively by batteries; a totally energy-efficient operation that will also touch, as one of the stops, the Matera Centrale station, designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti in 2019, on the occasion of Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture.
Compared to the previous structure, the new station expands the service spaces for travellers and improves their quality, to make them suitable for an increasing number of users. In particular, the project accommodates all the functions necessary for optimal logistical operation, including a new entrance with a ticket office of about 80 square metres, offices for staff, a waiting room of about 110 square metres and common areas. A large rectangular opening with an extension of about 440 square metres links the above-ground and underground parts of the station, guaranteeing the entry of air and natural light inside.
The most innovative element of the project is the 45×35 m metal roof, supported by twelve steel columns rising from the ‘iron plane’ (the track level), generating a covered square usable by travellers. The public space, open to the public, is covered on 1,500 square metres by a latest-generation photovoltaic surface, which includes a total of 696 photovoltaic panels, capable of producing up to twice as much energy as is needed to illuminate the station, and therefore potentially usable for the entire square.
The new battery-powered trains, which will start in 2026, are part of the energy optimisation of the infrastructure system promoted by FAL and will represent a first virtuous case and a model not only for Southern Italy but for the whole country.
The news was also reported by Il Gazzettino, Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno, Bari Today, Affari Italiani, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno.