During the next six years, Portugal will invest EUR 2.7 billion, of which 95 percent will come from EC funds, to build 1,200 kilometers of railways in order to improve freight transport.
As a result, nearly half of the Portuguese rail network will undergo improvement works in the next six years to comply with the provisions of the Strategic Plan for Transport and Infrastructure (PETI) approved by the previous Portuguese government.
PETI only includes the construction of a new line, 92 kilometers, between Évora and Caia, which will require an investment of EUR 626 million.
Within the modernization of rail freight lines, which require more investments, there is the Beira Alta line project, budgeted at EUR 691 million. Upon completion, this rail line will allow 750 meters long trains to run instead of the five hundred metres long trains currently operating.
The Strategic Plan also provides for the conclusion of the modernization on the Northern Line, in 2020, which will require an investment of EUR 315.2 million, in the Alfarelos – Pampilhosa, Ovar – Gaia and Braço de Prata – Alverca rail sections.
In the south, in addition to the Évora – Caia rai line rehabilitation, rail access to ports of Sines and Setúbal will be improved and the Algarve line will be fully electrified, with an investment of EUR 31.6 million. The Minho rail line will also be electrified with an investment of EUR 83.2 million, situated along the Nine-Valenca stretch, and will accommodate trains of 750 meters.
Share on:
