At issue is the non-technical summary of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) of the quadrupling of the Minho Line between Contumil (Porto) and Ermesinde (Valongo), which also includes an urban intervention in Rio Tinto.

According to Lusa, "The new parking lot of Rio Tinto station will be deployed to the east of the station, on a plot of land with about 14,600 m2 and will have a capacity for 264 light vehicles, plus space for motorcycles and bicycles."

According to the study, "since the current car park has a capacity of 120 light vehicles, there will be an increase of 144 parking spaces."

As part of the construction of the new car park, "there will also be an improvement in road accessibility to it, through a new connection between Rua Padre Joaquim Neves and Rua Garcia da Orta".

As for the current railway station of Rio Tinto, "it will also be redeveloped, which will involve, in addition to the construction of new platforms for the inclusion of the two lines, the construction of a PIP / PIR [Pedestrian / Road Underpass] that will improve pedestrian and road accessibility at the northern end of the station."

On March 13, Lusa reported that the quadrupling of the Minho railway line between Contumil and Ermesinde is expected to advance in 2024 and cost 120 million euros, according to an official source from Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).

According to the EIA published on the APA website, "the construction phase of the project will last 42 months, to which are added 3 months for the assembly and disassembly of the construction sites."

The circulation is currently done in only two tracks, something that "constitutes a constraint to railway operation, given that in the section to the east, between the stations of Campanhã and Contumil, it is already done currently on a quadruple track", intending "the segregation of traffic of the Minho line and the Douro line, thus ensuring greater reliability of services".

The execution of the entire contract for quadrupling the line is dependent on the issuance of a favourable Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) and "any adjustments that may be imposed" by the APA in the ongoing process, which began in October 2022.

In February 2020, following a public consultation in October 2019, the APA declared the non-compliance of a previous implementation project for the quadrupling of the section, which was based on a DIA issued in 2009.

As for the new project, "running within the usual deadlines, it is estimated that the DIA will be granted at the end of the 1st half of 2023".