Portugal’s national train company, CP has announced that it will be cutting back on services as it does not have enough engines and carriages.
The cut-back will start in August, an embarrassment to the Ministry of Infrastructure which is full behind promoting train travel and the transport of goods by rail.
Portugal's chief railway man, CP’s president, Carlos Nogueira, told parliament’s transport committee earlier this month that the company has been forced to replace some services with buses, and on other routes has been obliged to downgrade the rolling stock being used, thus causing cancellations and delays.
A number of inter-city rail services have been operating with regional trains and Intercity trains have replaced the Pendolinos used on the Lisbon - Porto Alfa Pendular service.
Service cuts soon will be affecting the Douro, Alentejo and Algarve lines in order to keep the Lisbon - Porto service going.
With an average rolling stock age of 40-years and an increasing number of trains in masintenance sheds due to delays and a lack of staff, these cuts were no surprise to insiders.
Nogueria says CP plans to rent trains from Renfe in Spain but that these will need authorisation to operate in Portugal, causing more delays.
A permanent solution is to replace the ageing fleet of trains but the government has ways of ensuring this investment is delayed time and time again.
The infrastructure minister, Pedro Marques, says a process to boost the fleet will be announced later this year, with the delivery of new trains coinciding with the completion of railway line work under the Ferrovia 2020 investment plan.
This plan includes electrification and improvements to the existing Iberian rail connections mainly for freight but also for passenger services connecting both Porto with Vigo (Galicia) and Lisbon with Madrid.
