Portugal’s Chega party says it is drawing up a new railway plan for the Algarve, proposing changes to the route, journey times and connections to main population centres, also including Faro Airport, Lisbon, and southern Spain.
The announcement follows a fact-finding journey by MPs João Paulo Graça and Ricardo Moreira, who travelled by train between Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António in both directions on 28 September.
The party said the trip, which included Chega party members from across the Algarve, was intended to assess passengers’ experiences and identify problems with the region’s rail network.
According to Chega, passengers raised concerns about timetables, journey times, connections, and the standard of services available on board.
The delegation left Lagos at 10.34am on an InterRegional service, which the party described as the only such service of the day, arriving in Vila Real de Santo António at 12.54pm.
The journey covered approximately 140 kilometres and took two hours and 20 minutes, according to a Chega spokesman.
The return journey, on a Regional service, departed Vila Real de Santo António at 3.34pm and arrived in Lagos at 6.13pm, a journey time of two hours and 39 minutes.
Chega argues that the figures demonstrate that the recent electrification of the Algarve railway line, while necessary, has done little to address the fundamental problem of journey times.
The party estimates that around €135 million has been invested in the line and claims that previous comparisons of journey times show a reduction of only around 19 minutes.
“€135 million for such an insignificant reduction in journey times is clearly insufficient,” Chega said. “The Algarve needs much more than an electrified railway line: it needs a modern and fast railway.”
The party also criticised the age of the rolling stock used on the line, saying the trains are around 50 years old despite having been modernised approximately two decades ago.
It said passengers can spend more than two and a half hours on some journeys without even having access to a service selling food or drinks.
Chega's criticism comes amid wider debate about the quality of rail infrastructure in the Algarve. The party also highlighted comments it attributed to Banco de Portugal governor Álvaro Santos Pereira, who it said had criticised the region's railway infrastructure and questioned the quality and speed of services.
Chega said the comments reflected concerns that passengers experience on a daily basis.
Towns including Lagoa, Silves, Armação de Pêra, and Loulé still lack adequate rail connections to their urban centres.
It also criticised the absence of a direct railway connection to Faro International Airport, the length of rail journeys between Faro and Lisbon, and the lack of a completed rail connection to southern Spain.
The party said the Algarve should not continue to be treated as the “poor cousin” of Portugal’s railway network.
“Portugal cannot have a two-speed railway: high-speed rail for some and an eternity-long journey to the Algarve,” Chega said.
In their press statement, the party stressed the importance of the Algarve to Portugal's economy and tourism industry, arguing that rail infrastructure should reflect the region's current population and economic role rather than the circumstances of a century ago.
Its proposed project is expected to include detailed recommendations for a faster and more modern railway network designed around the needs of residents, workers, students and visitors.
The party's statement, dated 29 September, did not give a date for the publication of the aforementioned proposals.
Source: Postal / CHEGA
Photo credit: Postal
