photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Alfa Pendular / Flickr/Portuguese steam locomotive
Portugal, once a small nation on the edge of Europe, became a pioneer in overseas exploration and built a colonial empire. From driving out the Moors in the Middle Ages to the rise of its railways and modern investments in high-speed lines, Portugal’s history is marked by dramatic shifts.
The modern history of Portugal begins in the 11th century when Catholic monarchs began driving the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula as part of the Reconquista. After defending its independence from neighboring Spain and expelling the last of the Moors in the 13th century, Portugal settled within borders that have remained largely unchanged into the 21st century.
In the coming centuries, Portugal became a trailblazer in overseas exploration, leading to the establishment of the Portuguese colonial empire, which lasted until 1999 when the colony of Macau was handed over to China. However, the Portuguese could not maintain their dominant position at sea and had to cede to other powers, as noted by Combios de Portugal.
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During the modern era, Portugal developed a conservative regime with a strong influence from the church and a struggling economy. The gradual dissolution of the colonial empire and significant emigration to the United States exacerbated poverty and dissatisfaction among the populace, leading to a revolution that toppled the monarchy in 1910. The new regime struggled to address numerous issues, leading to a military coup in 1926, which resulted in a dictatorship. Portugal remained under this regime until the Carnation Revolution of 1974, which brought democracy to the country, a change cemented by its entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986.
Now, let’s focus on the history of Portuguese railways. It all began in 1844 when Portuguese Prime Minister José Bernardo da Costa Cabral established the Companhia das Obras Públicas (Public Works Company) with a simple mission: to build a railway connection between Lisbon and Spain and to construct a large transcontinental port in the Portuguese capital. Political disagreements delayed the project for several years, but construction on the Lisbon-Spain railway line eventually commenced in 1853.
The railways garnered support within government circles and from the king himself, leading to the approval of further railway construction as early as 1854. The first domestic railways in Portugal began to take shape in the 1850s, with construction accelerating in the 1860s. Initially, Portugal had its own track gauge, but it wasn’t long before the country, alongside Spain, adopted the common Iberian gauge of 1,668 mm.
The pace of railway construction picked up again in the 1870s and 1880s, during which most of the main lines in the north and south of the country were completed. By the end of the 19th century, the basic railway network of Portugal was established. By the early 20th century, the state-operated only about one-third of the approximately 2,380 km network, with the rest managed by various private companies. The focus at the time was on building regional lines to connect even the poorest regions to the network. However, the pace of railway construction slowed at the beginning of the new century. World War I had minimal impact on Portuguese railways, as Portugal, despite participating on the side of the Allies, was spared from significant damage due to its geographical location. The main effects of the war were human losses and an economic downturn.
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In the interwar period, the railways faced new competition from road transport. Small private railways, which offered only individual routes rather than an interconnected network, struggled to compete. Government financial support was essential for the survival of Portugal’s railway network, but despite this, companies couldn’t avoid canceling services, laying off workers, or abandoning planned track modernizations. By the early 1930s, only 3,424 km of track remained in operation.
World War II brought further challenges to Portuguese railways, mainly due to fuel shortages and outdated rolling stock. Fortunately, Portugal, having declared neutrality during the war, avoided German occupation, and thus, the railways were spared from significant war damage.
The post-war period was catastrophic for Portuguese railways. The government refused to invest in the outdated network, seeing more potential in road transport, effectively sidelining the railways. This decision was disastrous for smaller operators, and even the larger ones couldn’t manage on their own. This led to discussions about merging railway companies. The first step was taken immediately after the war when a law was passed authorizing the government to create a plan for merging all railway companies into one. This culminated in the nationalization of the existing Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses, formalized with a contract signed in 1951.
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Despite initial resistance, Portugal eventually softened its stance in the 1950s. The state brought in investments that allowed for the modernization and electrification of at least some lines, aided by funding from the Marshall Plan. However, there were still many sections of track where trains couldn’t exceed speeds of 40 km/h due to poor conditions. Significant investments in the 1960s and 1970s helped address these issues.
After the fall of the dictatorship, Portugal fully nationalized Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses in 1975. Significant investments in the railways resumed only after the country joined the European Economic Community (EEC). This led to increased speeds on the railways and the reopening of approximately 1,000 km of tracks, though 700 km of underused lines were closed as part of the restructuring. In 1997, Portuguese railways underwent restructuring, resulting in the dissolution of Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses and the creation of the operator Comboios de Portugal (CP).
As part of the modernization, speeds on the northern line connecting Portugal’s largest cities, Lisbon and Porto, increased to 220 km/h. On the southern line connecting Lisbon to the coastal Algarve region, trains also reached speeds of 220 km/h. Further plans soon followed.
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In 2020, the Portuguese government announced a plan to invest EUR 43 billion in the railways by 2030, with funds earmarked for the construction of high-speed rail (HSR) lines. In 2022, the government announced that construction would begin in 2024, to open the high-speed line by 2030. Trains on this line are expected to reach speeds of 300 km/h. Another project involves a line from Porto to Vigo in northwest Spain, also slated for completion by 2030. The third HSR line that Portugal aims to open will connect Lisbon with the Spanish city of Badajoz, near the border. This line will link with the under-construction Madrid-Badajoz line, significantly speeding up rail travel between Madrid and Lisbon.
Source: Rail Ninja; Cp.pt