Close

Get on board with Zaha Hadid

id celebrates the first phase of the new Napoli Afragola high-speed railway station.

Designed by Zaha Hadid architects to meet the region’s future demand for rail travel – which has increased by more than 50% in the past decade – once all phases of the station are complete in 2022, Napoli Afragola will become a gateway to southern Italy and key interchange station serving four inter-city lines, three regional lines and a local commuter line.

Inaugurated last year with 18 high-speed trains in each direction, services will increase to 28 trains in each direction as new infrastructure and further phases of the station come on line enabling a further 200 regional and local train services to call at Napoli Afragola daily, creating the important interchange between the national, regional and local rail networks.

Developed to become a vital interchange between local, regional and national rail services, Napoli Afragola is within Italy’s new north/south high-speed rail corridor that will connect the 15 million residents of Campania, Puglia, Molise, Calabria and Sicily in southern Italy with the national high-speed rail network, as well as enable goods and passengers from Europe and northern Italy to easily access the southern ports of Gioia Tauro, Taranto, Bari, Brindisi, Palermo and Augusta.

Located 12km north of Naples, Napoli Afragola station is also planned to serve its local communities of Acerra, Afragola, Caivano, Casalnuovo di Napoli, and Casoria that vary in population from 10,000 to 50,000 residents.

The design enlarges the elevated walkway above the eight platforms to such a degree that it is transformed into the station’s main passenger concourse; creating an inhabited public bridge housing all the services and facilities for departing, arriving and connecting passengers, with direct access to all platforms below.Designed as an extruded trapezoid along its 450m curved path, the station’s elevated concourse is orientated at an angle from the railway tracks to improve its environmental performance. An integrated solar PV array, natural light and ventilation as well as ground source cooling/heating systems will enable the station to minimise energy consumption.

When all rail lines become operational, 32,700 passengers are expected to use the Napoli Afragola station every day (approximately 12 million passengers each year) with up to 4,800 local commuters using the station each morning and evening rush-hour.

zaha-hadid.com

The Latest

Visionaries of the id50 2026

Take a look at the visionaries from our id50 2026

Global Firms – id50 2026

Meet the global firms with local presence that form a part of this year's id50

Gaggenau Minimalistic Series

The Gaggenau Minimalistic Series. Two lines, one circle: a statement.

Sleek and clean, the Minimalistic series applies restraint in its design.

Meet the id50 2026

This year, we celebrate the interior designers, architects and product designers from the region – from emerging talent to the visionaries and global firms with local presence. We uncover their latest projects and what drew them to the profession.

Read ‘The Power Issue’ – Note from the editor

Read identity magazine's July-August 2026 edition on ISSUU or grab your copy

Hacker kitchen

Häcker UAE on the discipline of designing a kitchen that asks for nothing

The German kitchen studio discusses why restraint, not statement, is the harder thing to achieve and what that means for the architects and designers it works with.

id most wanted – June 2026

Where There is Uns by Joud Malhas and Rachel Antoun

100 Years and Counting

Bang & Olufsen was founded in a farmhouse in Struer, Denmark, where Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen were united by a singular belief: that technology should be as beautiful as it is functional

A Quiet Respite at Nobu Toronto

Inspired by a Japanese ryokan, Studio Munge completes Canada’s first Nobu hotel

Ebb and Flow

Set a stone’s throw away from Hyde Park, the Six Senses London has wellness at its heart

Between Sky and Sea

This home in Mumbai, India is an ode to Italian design

A Celestial Rejuvenation

Five-star luxury property Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda in Gargnano, Italy, features a renovation by Studio Apostoli and the Lefay Project Team blending contemporary luxury with natural materials