The Algarve’s railway line is finally set to receive electric trains from 19 July, bringing more daily services, the end of the long-standing change of trains at Faro, and significantly shorter journey times.
The introduction of the electric fleet follows a timetable overhaul by Portuguese rail operator CP. According to the newspaper Público, the number of daily services between Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA) and Faro will increase from 12 to 16, whilst services between Faro and Lagos will see a miniscule rise from nine to 10. Through services between VRSA and Lagos will also increase, from eight to 10 per day.
Passengers can also expect considerably faster journeys. Travel time between Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António will fall from an average of 3 hours and 9 minutes to 2 hours and 39 minutes. The improvement is partly due to the electric trains' quicker acceleration and braking, but mainly because passengers will no longer have to change trains at Faro, a transfer that currently adds around 25 minutes to the journey.
Travel between Faro and Lagos will be cut by 20 minutes, falling from 1 hour and 50 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the journey between Vila Real de Santo António and Faro will be reduced by seven minutes, from 1 hour and 8 minutes to 1 hour and 1 minute.
Despite the improvements, plans to extend the Intercidades and Alfa Pendular services beyond Faro to Vila Real de Santo António have yet to materialise. Público reports that infrastructure works carried out by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) did not include reinforcing the metal railway bridges at Faro, Tavira, and Almargem, meaning they are still unable to support the weight and dimensions of certain long-distance trains. According to the newspaper, the tender for those upgrades is expected to be launched only "within the next few weeks".
Moreover, it is to be noted that the electric trains themselves are not new. They were built by Portuguese manufacturer Sorefame in the 1970s, although they underwent a comprehensive modernisation programme in the early 2000s.
Source: Público
Photo credit: Nuno Ferreira Santos
