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high-speed rail in Portugal

Overview of the high-speed rail system in Portugal1

Since the 1990s, Portugal features a network of high-speed trains, which however run mainly on conventional railways as of 2026, with some sections of infrastructure upgraded over the decades. These high-speed services are the so-called Alfa Pendular services, with top speeds of 220 km/h (135 mph), and they connect much of Portugal. Plans have been made for dedicated high-speed railways both within Portugal and to connect to Spain, but these have been cancelled and revived multiple times, and as of 2026 only some parts have been finished.2 It is headquartered in Lisbon.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Dec 19, 2000Founded1

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Alfa Pendular 127, Gare do Oriente, 2011.04.21
Photo: Nuno Morão, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Since the 1990s, Portugal features a network of high-speed trains, which however run mainly on conventional railways as of 2026, with some sections of infrastructure upgraded over the decades. These high-speed services are the so-called Alfa Pendular services, with top speeds of 220 km/h (135 mph), and they connect much of Portugal. Plans have been made for dedicated high-speed railways both within Portugal and to connect to Spain, but these have been cancelled and revived multiple times, and as of 2026 only some parts have been finished.2

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Since the late 1990s Comboios de Portugal (CP) has run the Alfa Pendular service, connecting Portugal's mainland from the north border to the Algarve at a speed of up to 220 kilometres per hour (140 mph) (in specific sections), which due to the techonology of tilting trains reduced the travel time between Porto and Lisbon by approximately 30 minutes compared to normal trains.

The service is operated using 10 Italian-designed Pendolino tilting trains. Based on the Italian ETR 480, trains were assembled in Portugal at the former SOREFAME/Adtranz plant in Amadora. Fiat Ferroviaria was the main contractor, with Siemens and ADtranz as subcontractors.

In addition to these high-speed trains, CP InterCity "corail" coaches have been upgraded to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph) running. These are hauled by CP 5600 locomotives (identical to the Spanish RENFE Class 252). These "corail" coaches are based on French SNCF Corail cars but their carbody is made out of stainless steel, manufactured at the SOREFAME plant.

From Wikipedia’s article on High-speed rail in Portugal, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. Dec 19, 2000Founded Founded1

Sources

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