In February 2016, the Portuguese infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) presented the investment plan “Ferrovia 2020” for rail modernisation. Freight operators would be the main beneficiary instead of passenger services. However, after 10 years, most of the works are still incomplete. Now, IP has admitted it was too ambitious.
With a budget of €2.1 billion, the first calendar of Ferrovia 2020 envisioned that all construction would be completed by the end of 2021. Among the interventions, the project included updates for the Atlantic TEN-T Corridor: in the Northern link, modernisation of the Beira Alta line (Pampilhosa-Vilar Formoso); the Southern connection consisted of the new Évora-Elvas-Caia link and benefits for the Portugal’s largest port in Sines.
Despite the commitment, both TEN-T corridors faced several problems during the construction, and the Southern link has not been concluded yet. IP acknowledged the mistakes in a report released yesterday by the Portuguese Transport and Mobility Authority (AMT).
From 5 to 10 years
The first calendar assumed that all interventions would be concluded in five years. In detail, IP forecasted six months for the tendering process, 12 to 18 months for the project phase and one to three years of site construction. This planning process did not include any time for environmental procedures. At the time, “there was no evaluation of the construction market capacity and dimension” and concerning the “capacity execution”, the infrastructure manager said.
Now, IP assumes a 10-year calendar for a railway investment: one year of preliminary studies and strategic evaluation; around four years of detailed studies and environmental processes; four and a half years for the construction stage (including Government authorisations and international tender); and, in the end, at least six months for the certification and test of the rail tracks. Even when evaluating the interventions with the new framework, the delays still exist.
Northern corridor
For the Beira Alta line, faster route speeds, replacement of level crossings by safer alternatives, and new station layouts were announced as the main milestones of the project. In the end, this would allow 750-metre freight trains, under a 679 million euro investment including EU funding.
The circulation of 750-metre-long trains in this TEN-T corridor was one of the main goals of this intervention, reducing operational costs for carriers by 30% by using only one locomotive and driver to convey dozens of wagons. On paper, freight transport would be more affordable, profitable and environmentally sustainable. Freight carriers, though, do not have any of these benefits.
After the modernisation, the Beira Alta line was also expected to welcome the first rolling highway in Portugal, conveying trucks and drivers over wagons. Such an option provides more efficient and environmentally friendly logistics, reducing road traffic to first and last mile as well as operational costs. Still, the Beira Alta clearance did not occur, not allowing this kind of logistics for now.
From a 9 to 42-month closure
The Beira Alta line modernisation should have been concluded by the first quarter of 2020. However, the project started four years later than scheduled and the works began in 2021. All the forecasts, though, were derailed by the effects of Covid-19 and Ukraine’s war, combined with challenging material orders, issues with contractors and even the theft of more than 30 km of cables.
IP tried to recover the delay and reduced the costs by 250 million euros by closing the rail route for nine months in April 2022. All the expectations were frustrated, and the reopening was delayed several times. Even two tunnels became problematic because IP kept them instead of building the bypasses suggested by a preliminary study. The link only fully reopened in late September 2025, more than three years after the initial forecast.
Southern corridor
Between Évora and Elvas, the delay is three months longer compared to the Beira Alta corridor. In 2016, IP expected that the 90 km new rail track would be completed by the end of 2019. However, there are no trains yet, and there will not be until the end of the year. This marks a delay of two and a half years under the new IP framework, or almost seven years based on the first timetable.
The problems started early in the project, with “lack of quality” in the study and project development. Then, IP did not consider the necessity of an environmental evaluation and the interactions with the authorities in that department. The delays spread to the tender stage, due to the project’s “high complexity” and “many contenders”, which, in some cases, did not present valid proposals and forced a new tender. Also, some appeals suspended the construction for several months, IP highlighted.
With this new link, freight trains leaving the Port of Sines will take one and a half hours less compared to today. The new track will also allow up to 51 750-metre-long trains every day, more than doubling the existing 36 400-metre-long trains. On the first stage, the new Évora-Elvas link will have a single track, despite the corridor being prepared to receive a side track depending on demand.
Lessons learned
For the next interventions, IP tells AMT that the proposals will be evaluated not only based on the price but also considering their quality; introduce more penalties for contractors in case of delays; and demand more technical requirements to potential contestants.
AMT recommends that IP implement contingency plans and cost provisions, given the existence of many external and uncontrolled risks, such as construction market capacity, budget restrictions, macroeconomic context and unforeseen geotechnical events. The project stage becomes even more important to prevent such delays.
