I'm in Portugal. I have been here in January 2018, but very briefly, and I did not see many trains back then
Now, I will try to recap what I've missed. I will be visiting the main railway between Lisbon and Porto
I've been considering how to travel to Portugal, and after some consideration, I've decided to rent a car. The main concern is the heat; the car will give me more flexibility.
Today, I'm heading to Linha do Norte, a 336km long line between Lisbon and Porto. Also I'll visit Linha de Vendas Novas - only used by freight trains
The chickens are located next to Santana - Cartaxo station
Linha de Norte has an intense passenger traffic, with slow and fast trains
CP Class 5600 is part of the Siemens Eurosprinter family. It is similar to Spanish Renfe Class 252 and Greek OSE Class 120.
CP Class 4700 is also part of Eurosprinter from 2007 (while Class 5600 is from 1995), and it is similar to Belgian SNCB Class 18
Medway was the freight division of national company CP; it was privatized in 2016 and sold to MSC Rail.
Today, all 25 units of Class 4700 are branded as Medway
MSC Rail is a Swiss international giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) subsidiary. It is Portugal's largest rail freight operator, with around 90% of the market share. Its main competitor is rail operator Takargo.
Today there are Medway operations in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and soon France
CP Class 2240, an EMU modernized in 2004-2005 and based on CP Class 2100 from 1970-1984
CP Alfa Pendular, Portuguese version of the famous Pendolino train
It is the fastest train in Portugal, capable to reach 220km/h
From this station it is possible to go to Lisboa-Apolonia, Tomar and Entroncamento
A very short Intercity train
Corail coaches from 1985 are used on the Intercity, the Iberian gauge version of the famous French coach. In Portugal, they were manufactured by Sorefame (Sociedades Reunidas de Fabricações Metálicas, SA).
Vale de Santarem
As I explained in my previous post, Portugal has about 0.2% of freight transported by rail, and only two European countries have less: Ireland and Greece. The benchmark is 18%. One explanation for so little transportation of goods by rail is the easy access to sea ports, and thus, transportation is carried out by ships.
MSC owns Medway, so these containers are transported by both Maritime and Rail.
About 98% of freight transport in Portugal is transported by Maritime. (Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Freight_transport_statistics_-_modal_split#Modal_split_of_freight_transport_by_country_in_2022)
Storks are in many places here
Linha de Vendas Novas opened in 1904, it is 69.9km long and today only used by freight traffic.
Here I am at Ponte Rainha D. Amélia - 840m long bridge over Tagus river
The old railway bridge was transformed into a car bridge in 2001 when the new railway bridge (to the left here) was constructed
It is a one-way road regulated by a traffic light
This line also previously had a regional passenger service, which operated until 2005, then again between 2009 and 2011. Passenger service on this line was discontinued due to low ridership. (Wikipedia)
Muge station
The map of Linha do Norte and Linha de Vendas Novas
The stations are still in their place with the decorations
I had to wait a while for a train, but then there were several in a short time
I have already seen today: 4711 and 4710 (two times); now it is time for 4721 and 4715
The design is very similar to Siemens Vectron, but this one is from the Eurosprinter family
Medway branded wagons
4719 and 4704
Cement
4701 and 4714
So, where are all these trains going? Two significant ports, Sines and Setubal, are located south of Lisbon, so I guess they are going there.
And now, a train in the other direction
4725 and 4720
Another station along this line is Marinhais
Pegões station, located at Linha do Alentejo
There are some passenger services on this line to the towns of Beja and Evora
But here is one freight service
CP Class 5600 is not only used for passenger services but also for freight - here as 5623 from Medway
It is named 5600 because of the power output of 5600kW; the same goes for Class 4700, which has a power output of 4684kW
It has a maximum speed of 220km/h, but here it goes with probably 30km/h
Zaes wagon.
"This light tank wagon can be used for all significant liquid products like jet fuel, diesel, biodiesel, and veg oil. Light tarra weight and short length optimize the rail freight. The wagons are equipped with all standard valves. A big part of the wagons has a special coating for jet fuel."
The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge flanked by viaducts that spans the Tagus River in Parque das Nações in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
It is the second longest bridge in Europe, after the Crimean Bridge, and the longest one in the European Union. It was built to alleviate the congestion on Lisbon's 25 de Abril Bridge and eliminate the need for traffic between the country's northern and southern regions to pass through the capital city. (Wikipedia)
Lisbon Oriente station
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