Portugal has awarded a contract for a 120 million euro investment in the Vendas Novas railway. The modernisation includes station upgrades, signalling and GSM-R towers, track superstructure replacements and it will allow for 750-metre trains.
The freight-only Vendas Novas railway runs from the Port of Sines, south of Lisbon, to Vendas Novas, where it links up with other railways. It is an important line for freight traffic because it allows trains to avoid the congested Lisbon area, where weight limitations are also in effect.
“The main objectives of this project are to modernise the railway infrastructure and expand stations to allow the crossing of trains up to 750 metres long, enhancing operating conditions and strengthening the rail link between the Port of Sines and national logistics platforms and Europe”, writes infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal. The project should be completed in 48 months.
In total, Portugal is investing 204 million euros in the Vendas Novas railway. Some will be watching the investment cautiously: an earlier 677-million euro modernisation of the Beira Alta railway was met with skepticism, with Portuguese media reporting that the investment did not improve much for passenger or freight trains.
