PORTUGAL: Agreement has been reached to restore passenger services on an orbital line in the northern suburbs of Porto.
The first trains are expected to begin running this year, following a 13-year hiatus. A protocol to restore passenger services was signed at São Mamede de Infesta station on March 21 by representatives from Matosinhos municipality, national road and rail infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal, and operator Comboios de Portugal.
In the first phase, services would be restored on the section running north and west from the existing station at Contumil as far as Leça do Balio. There would be four intermediate stations, at São Gemil, Arroteia, Hospital São João and São Mamede de Infesta.
The three signatories have each committed to contributing €1m towards the capital investment required. IP is to build two new stations, at Hospital São João and Arroteia, and will provide accessible platforms at Contumil and São Gemil. Matosinhos municipality will be responsible for rebuilding and accessibility works at São Mamede de Infesta and Leça do Balio, as well as further accessibility projects at the new stations to be built by IP.
Studies are also to be undertaken for a second phase which would extend the passenger services westwards along the whole of the 19 km line to the port of Leixões; this was envisaged in the PNI2030 National Investment Programme.
Service plan
Services would be operated by CP. Two trains/h in each direction would link Campanhã and Leça do Balio, with some services running through to other parts of the Porto suburban network. Rail services are expected to be integrated with Metro do Porto and wider public transport in the UNIR Porto metropolitan area.
The Contumil – Leixões line was built in 1938 and carried passenger services until 1966. The then freight-only line was electrified in 1998, and passenger services were reinstated in 2009. However, they were suspended again in 2011 as ridership was below expectations. At that time, the trains operated over an 11 km route from Leça do Balio to Ermesinde in the northeast, rather than to Contumil, and there were fewer stations serving the densely populated areas.
