Enthusiast's Guide to Travelling the Railways of Europe

PORTUGAL (Portugal)

Lines with obscure or sparse passenger services

This list is based on the service valid at 28 December 2007. CP no longer publish a national railway timetable, so the table numbers used (prefixed TCE) are those in the "European Timetable" published by Thomas Cook. Timetable leaflets for individual lines are fairly widely available.

CP's timetable periods nominally coincide with those in the rest of Europe, but in practice timetables are changed on an ad hoc basis, often with little notice.

Standard abbreviations used are explained in the General Information document.

Last update for this page: 15 January 2008.

Obscure services

Lisboa Santa Apolónia (Bif. Xabregas) — Chelas [TCE 692a] (25B2-3 not shown) PT08/1

This south to west curve links Santa Apolónia station with Entrecampos and beyond.

  SuX R 6401 05:07 Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Caldas da Rainha
  SSuO R 6403 05:55 Lisboa Santa Apolónia - Caldas da Rainha
  SO R 6420 Caldas da Rainha - 21:15 Entrecampos - Lisboa Santa Apolónia
  SX R 6422 Caldas da Rainha - 23:53 Entrecampos - Lisboa Santa Apolónia

Amieira — Reveles (Bif. Verride) [TCE 692a] (17A2) PT08/2

This south to east curve provides a direct route between the Leiria and Coimbra directions, avoiding reversal in the Figueira da Foz area.

  SuX IR 801 Caldas da Rainha - 07:35 Louriçal - Coimbra
    IR 803 Caldas da Rainha - 17:33 Louriçal - Coimbra
    IR 800 Coimbra - 09:31 Verride - Caldas da Rainha
  SX IR 802 Coimbra - 19:37 Verride - Caldas da Rainha

Coimbra — Coimbra Parque (17B2) PT08/3

A section of street-running to link the main station and Parque station, the normal terminus for Serpins branch (Ramal da Lousã) trains.

  SuX R 6503 Coimbra-B - 05:10 Coimbra - Serpins
    R 6500 Serpins - 06:20 Coimbra-Parque - Coimbra-B

Contumil — Guifões (7A1) PT08/4

This section of the Leixões branch has carried unadvertised trains for workers at the railway carriage and wagon works at Guifões; note that the only exit from the platform leads directly to a turnstile entrance into the works.

The service at April 2003 was as follows; current information would be welcome.

* SSuX ? 07:35 Porto Campanhã - 07:55 Contumil - Guifões
* SSuX ? 17:45 Guifões - Contumil

Valdera (Poceirão west junction) - Pinheiro (Bif. Aguas de Moura Sul) [TCE 697] (26A2) PT08/5

This direct line avoids the more circuitous route via Setúbal. It is used only by Porto - Lisboa - Algarve express services.

    AP 180 Porto Campanhã - 09:31 Pinhal Novo - Faro
    AP 186 Porto Campanhã - 19:31 Pinhal Novo - Faro
    AP 182 Faro - 07:26 Tunes - Porto Campanhã
    AP 184 Faro - 15:25 Tunes - Porto Campanhã

Deletions since last edition

None.

Other sparse services

The following lines have few trains (relative to service levels generally in this country) - fewer than four trains each way on at least three days a week - or do not run every day of the week:

TCE 691 Abrantes - Torre das Vargens - Valéncia de Alcántara (Spain) / Elvas [1-3 trains each way daily]
TCE 692a Amieira - Bifurcação de Lares [2-3 trains each way daily]
TCE 693 Pampilhosa - Cantanhede - Figueira da Foz [3 trains each way daily]
TCE 690 Guarda - Covilhã [3 trains each way daily]
TCE 690 Vilar Formoso - Fuentes de Oñoro (Spain) [1 train each way daily]
Águeda - Sernada do Vouga - Oliveira de Azeméis [2-3 trains each way daily]
TCE 695 Valença - Tui (Tuy) (Spain) [2 trains each way daily]
TCE 696 Tua - Mirandela
TCE 697 Beja - Funcheira [2 trains each way daily]

Last complete update 10 January 2008. Subsequent amendments: None.

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