Linha do Algarve


Location on the network

+ Lagos × VRSA

Geography

The line runs east to west along the sothern coast of the Algarve, except for part of the coast in the Lagos municipality and all of the coast in the Vila do Bispo municipality. The main stations are Vila Real de Santo António, Faro, Tavira, Olhão, Albufeira, Tunes, Portimão, and Lagos.

Operation

Passengers and cargo

All passenger services are run by the national railway operator Comboios de Portugal. Cargo services are operated by Medway. The infrastructure is owned and maintained by Infraestruturas de Portugal. The main railway station is Faro, the most important cargo terminal is Loulé.
Four passenger services operate on the Linha do Algarve. The Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, CP Regional, and a special service during the summer the InterRegional. The CP Regional trains operate the line completely from east to west with an interchange at Faro. The Alfa Pendular, Intercidades and InterRegional only service Messines-Alte, Tunes, Albufeira, Loulé, and Faro.
The track from Vila Real de Santo António to Vila Real de Santo António - Guadiana, which linked the line to the ferries to Ayamonte, in Spain, is closed.

History

In 1858, the expansion of the Linha do Sul, today Linha do Alentejo, from Beja to Algarve was planned; in 1864, the contract between Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro de Sul e Sueste and the Portuguese state was signed.
The connection to Faro was completed on the 21st of February 1889, but only opened on the 1st of July of the same year.
The railway reached Olhão on 28 March 1904, Fuseta railway station on 1 September, Luz on 31 January 1905, Tavira on 19 March, and Vila Real de Santo António on 14 April 1906. Towards Lagos, the stations of Algoz, Ferragudo and Lagos were opened on 10 October 1889, 15 February 1903 and 30 July 1922. The Vila Real de Santo António – Guadiana station was opened in the 1940s.