PORTUGAL: The national government has given road and rail infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal final approval for the €4·9m project to begin rehabilitation work on the 30 km Oliveira de Azeméis – Sernada do Vouga section of the metre-gauge Vouga line.
The Oliveira de Azeméis – Sernada do Vouga section was closed to revenue services in 2013 due to the poor condition of the infrastructure, although some trains have been using this section since then to access national operator CP’s workshop at Sernada do Vouga. Passenger services have been substituted with a twice-daily rail replacement taxi.
The 96 km Vouga line is the last remaining narrow-gauge line in Portugal with revenue-earning passenger services. It links two towns on the Lisboa – Porto main line, Aveiro and Espinho, via a more sinuous alignment serving a rural hinterland. At present, CP runs trains between Espinho and Oliveira de Azemeis, and between Águeda and Aveiro.
Since 2017 there has been a seasonal diesel or steam-hauled tourist service that runs between Aveiro, Águeda and Macinhata do Vouga. A branch from Sernada do Vouga to Viseu was closed in the early 1990s.
The scope of the upgrading work includes refurbishment of the stations, track renewals including replacement of wooden sleepers, and installation of modern signalling to protect level crossings.
Approval of the latest work package forms part of a multi-year programme of modernisation. Renewals have already taken place on the 15 km section between Águeda and Sernada do Vouga, and the 12 km from Oliveira de Azeméis to Santa Maria da Feira. However, the overall project is running four years behind schedule.
In its current budget period, IP has allocated €34m to modernising the line. The national government’s PNI 2030 investment plan calls for a total of €100m to be spent, but to date actual expenditure on upgrading work totals only €8·1m.
Meanwhile, a 500 m extension of the line from Espinho-Vouga to Espinho main line station is also being studied. This would allow interchange between the Vouga line and the Lisboa – Porto route. In 2008, Espinho station was rebuilt underground, and the Vouga line was cut back to Espinho-Vouga.
