"This is the first section, a section of about 580 meters between Hospital Santo António and Praça da Liberdade. Two more sections will follow, between Jardim do Carregal/Hospital Santo António and Galiza, which we estimate to be able to launch by the end of June, and then, later on, between October and November, the section between Galiza and Casa da Música", the president of Metro do Porto, Tiago Braga, told journalists.

The Linha Rosa will connect São Bento to Casa da Música, with connections to the current metro stations, and will have intermediate stations at Hospital de Santo António and Praça da Galiza.

The official stressed that the stage marked today, after the start of the excavation in October 2022, "was a very, very difficult part of the project, with many constraints and challenges", as it is a structure that passes "under centuries-old buildings", even passing next to the Torre dos Clérigos.

"We made this 580 meters without any impact on the surface, without any significant damage to the surface, and that is an aspect that we can truly be proud of", he guaranteed after the tunnel 'breakthrough', in which he was accompanied by the vice-president of the Porto City Council, Filipe Araújo, and by the councilman for Urbanism, Pedro Baganha.

Tiago Braga also admitted that works of this type "always cause a lot of friction in terms of the initial schedule", including "delays", with the line expected to be operational by the end of July 2025.

Before that, the president of Metro do Porto said that "by São João [June 24]" the road connection between Praça da Liberdade and Praça Almeida Garrett (in São Bento) will be opened, and by the end of the year the project will "completely vacate Avenida dos Aliados".

"The last intervention that will exist from the project in the Avenida dos Aliados area, the connection to Rua dos Clérigos, Rua da Madeira and Rua 31 de Janeiro will be the replacement of the tram, because it will depend on the access galleries to Rua da Madeira and the São Bento station", he explained.

Regarding the completion of the Rio de Vila project, near Largo de São Domingos, whose tunnel was completed in October 2023, Tiago Braga said that "the connection boxes of the new Rio de Vila to the old Rio de Vila" are being made, in an intervention that was scheduled for the beginning of the week but which was postponed to the end "for technical reasons".

The total costs of Linha Rosa amount to 304.7 million euros, after in July last year, the total value of the expansion works of the Linha Amarela and Linha Rosa increased by about 20 million euros to 511 million, according to a resolution of the Council of Ministers.

Metro do Porto currently has six lines in operation, awaiting the inauguration of the extension of Linha Amarela (D) between Santo Ovídio and Vila d'Este (Vila Nova de Gaia), and the completion of the works on Linha Rosa (G), between São Bento and Casa da Música (Porto) and the 'metrobus' line between Casa da Música and Praça do Império.

The work on Linha Rubi (Santo Ovídio - Casa da Música), which includes a new bridge over the Douro River, has already started, and the public tender for the second phase of the 'metrobus', which will connect the service to Praça Cidade do Salvador (Anémona roundabout), has also been launched.

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