As part of the post-Covid stimulus plan, Portugal is planning to invest heavily in the rail network, which has been chronically underfunded for decades (while multiple motorways have been springing up all over the country, none of which seems heavily used). It’s a mix of high speed upgrades (which were planned before the 2008 crash but abandoned under an austerity government) , capacity enhancements, electrification and reopening. Quite ambitious, and will have some EU money behind it.
Porto-Lisbon in 1hr15 is one if the goals.
The current Portuguese government seems quite pro-rail and has appointed leadership who actually have a strong rail background. Currently they are making some very economical short-medium term fixes to a network that was almost at the point of collapse, including reviving old stock (some locos have been in storage for over a decade), and buying a load of intercity coaches from Spain at scrap value. They’ve reopened the rail workshops at Guifoes to undertake this refurbishment ‘in house’. For traction enthusiasts one of the benefits of this policy has been the reintroduction of regular timetabled loco hauled services on the scenic Douro line, using the CP1400 class, which is based on the UK class 20 (the first 10 were actually built in Vulcan Foundry, though none of that batch are in the passenger pool at the moment, I’m hoping 1408 makes it north at some point ).
Porto – Lisboa high speed link revived under €10∙5bn rail spending programme
PORTUGAL: The government has confirmed its intention to press ahead with rail investment totalling more than €10bn as part of a wider national stimulus programme. The highlight of the package is the revival of a proposal for a high speed rail link between Lisboa and Porto, which was the subject ...
www.railwaygazette.com
Porto-Lisbon in 1hr15 is one if the goals.
The current Portuguese government seems quite pro-rail and has appointed leadership who actually have a strong rail background. Currently they are making some very economical short-medium term fixes to a network that was almost at the point of collapse, including reviving old stock (some locos have been in storage for over a decade), and buying a load of intercity coaches from Spain at scrap value. They’ve reopened the rail workshops at Guifoes to undertake this refurbishment ‘in house’. For traction enthusiasts one of the benefits of this policy has been the reintroduction of regular timetabled loco hauled services on the scenic Douro line, using the CP1400 class, which is based on the UK class 20 (the first 10 were actually built in Vulcan Foundry, though none of that batch are in the passenger pool at the moment, I’m hoping 1408 makes it north at some point ).