CP — Comboios de Portugal, EPE is a state-owned company which operates passenger trains in Portugal. Before June 2009, CP stood for Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses although the company has been using its current designation as a brand name since 2004. In 2019, CP transported 145 million passengers, 19 million more than in 2018.
History
On 28 October 1856, the first railway line was inaugurated in Portugal, between Lisbon and Carregado: the Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses was born. The network was gradually expanded both south of the Tagus and to the north of the country, as well as in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto and to Spain. During the second half of the 20th century, much of CP's rolling stock was built in Portugal by Sorefame - notably carriages with stainless steel bodywork. Gradually, electrification was put in place for a little less than half the network. In 1975, the company was nationalised, and its name was shortened to CP, A plan to finally connect all the district capitals by a fully electrified double line was to be implemented from 2010. Part of this plan is based on the Swiss Rail 2000 model. Manuel Antunes Frasquilho served as Chairman of the Board of directors between 1996 and 1997. The Vouga line is now the only narrow gauge line left in operation - it is also slated for closure.
Infrastructure
The infrastructure of the Portuguese network is managed by Infraestruturas de Portugal, usually abbreviated to IP Portuguese railway network extent:
The maximum extent of was reached in 1949, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s some lines were shortened and some totally closed.
Organisation
CP is split into four divisions:
CP Longo Curso, long-distance mainline services.
CP Regional, regional services.
CP Lisboa, Lisbon's suburban network.
CP Porto, Porto's suburban network.
Services
CP offers the following types of trains:
International is the service that connects Portugal and Spain. These are the Sud Express, the Lusitânia and the Celta. Both Sud Express and Lusitânia are night trains that run as Trenhotel.
Alfa Pendular is the fastest service, whose speeds can reach 220 km/h. This service runs from Lisbon to either Porto, Braga or Guimarães or between Porto and Faro.
Intercidades is a fast long-distance service whose speeds can reach 200 km/h. All IC services run from Lisbon to either Porto, Braga, Guimarães, Guarda, Covilhã or Évora, serving the majority of the Portuguese regions. Service to southern Portugal runs to cities including Tunes, Faro, and Albufeira.
Inter-Regional is a medium distance service which stops only at the main stations. Runs mainly on the routes Porto-Viana do Castelo-Valença, Porto-Régua-Pocinho, Lisbon-Caldas da Rainha-Leiria-Coimbra and Lisbon-Tomar. Services are operated by the same trains as Regional service.
Regional is CP's local service, stopping at all stations, out of the Lisbon and Porto suburban areas.
Urbano is the CP's suburban service, in the regions of Lisbon and Porto and in the Coimbra-Figueira da Foz Line.
The network
CP's flagship service, introduced in 1999, is the Alfa Pendular which operates between Braga - Porto - Lisbon - Faro, at a top speed of 220 km/h with FIAT/Siemens tilting trains. As of 2006, CP's network reaches most of the country. CP inaugurated new trains in suburban service in the 1990s.
Linha do Leste (Passenger service revived on 29 Aug 2017: one "Regional" train daily in each direction between Entroncamento and Badajoz, running time three hours
