The Portuguese rail infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) will improve capacity on the Alentejo railway. Portugal is allocating €270 million to this project, of which around €90 million are European funds. By 2030, freight capacity should be 20% larger than it is now on the route.
IP has awarded a contract for the modernisation and double-track construction on the Alentejo railway. It targets infrastructure between Poceirão and Bombel, a 25-kilometre stretch of rail. The rail junction at Poceirão will also undergo modernisation work.
The Alentejo railway is part of the international Lisbon–Madrid connection. The €270 million should help eliminate capacity constraints, improve operating conditions, and create conditions for a more efficient supply of both passenger and freight transport, says IP.
Accommodating 2030’s traffic
IP hopes to reduce travel times along the railway, accommodate 750-metre freight trains, as well as improve safety and interoperability. It includes catenary replacements, new signalling and telecommunications infrastructure and level crossing eliminations.
These measures should help meet the projected growth in demand in the coming years. Portugal expects the number of annual freight trains on the route to grow from 7,695 in 2023 to 9,204 in 2030 (+20%). It expects similar growth in the passenger segment.
The project also includes double-tracking the Marateca Bridge. This reinforces one of the structural elements of this railway corridor, says IP. It will significantly increase the network’s capacity to respond to the projected growth in passenger and freight traffic, particularly that associated with the ports of Setúbal and Sines.
