Comboios de Portugal

Comboios de Portugal (CP) is Portugal’s state-owned national railway operator, responsible for passenger services across the country from urban commuter networks to long-distance corridors, operating on the Iberian-gauge network managed by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).

History

The first railway in Portugal opened on 28 October 1856, connecting Lisbon with Carregado. The network expanded under private concessions through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, reaching its maximum extent of roughly 3,750 km in the 1950s. Nationalisation followed in April 1975 with the creation of CP from the assets of the former Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses.

Subsequent decades brought line closures, reducing the operational network by roughly a quarter. In 1997, infrastructure management was separated from operations with the creation of REFER as the dedicated infrastructure manager. REFER was merged with Estradas de Portugal in 2015 to form IP, which holds that role today.

In 1999, CP introduced the Alfa Pendular, a tilting train service operating at up to 220 km/h on the main north–south axis. Cargo activities were later divested and are now operated by Medway, a subsidiary of MSC, leaving CP as a passenger-only company.

Operations

CP operates five service tiers. The Alfa Pendular connects Braga, Porto, Lisbon and Faro and is the commercial flagship, operating outside the public service obligation framework. Intercidades provides long-distance intercity services since 1988.

InterRegional and Regional services cover medium and local distances, serving lines including Minho, Douro, Alentejo, Algarve, Beiras and the West. Urban commuter services operate in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, with Lisbon accounting for the largest passenger volumes. International passenger services are limited to the Celta service between Porto and Vigo in Spain.

Fertagus, a private operator, runs a competing commuter service across the Tagus crossing on the Lisbon–Setúbal corridor and is the only significant private passenger operator on the network.

Fleet

CP’s current rolling stock fleet is among the oldest in Western Europe, with significant portions of the EMU (electric multiple unit) and diesel fleets dating from the 1990s and earlier. In October 2025, CP signed a base contract with an Alstom–DST consortium for 117 Adessia Stream electric multiple units valued at EUR 746 million.

In March 2026 that contract was expanded to 153 units at a total value of EUR 1.064 billion, the largest rolling stock acquisition in Portugal’s history. Of the 153 three-car trains, each with a capacity of up to 450 passengers, 98 will be deployed on suburban services in Lisbon, Porto and Cascais, and 55 on regional lines.

First deliveries are scheduled for 2029. Alstom will establish a new manufacturing facility in Portugal in connection with the contract, creating approximately 300 direct jobs.

In May 2026, CP launched a EUR 584 million tender for 12 high-speed trainsets to serve the upgraded Lisbon–Porto corridor, scheduled to open in 2032. The base order carries an option for eight additional units.

The EUR 584 million envelope covers EUR 539 million for trains and spare parts and EUR 45 million for workshop facilities. Trains must operate on Iberian gauge with provision for wheelset conversion to standard gauge, at speeds above 300 km/h, targeting a Lisbon–Porto journey time of 1h15m.

First delivery is required by Q1 2031; contract award is targeted for Q1 2027.

Financial performance

For most of its existence, CP operated at a structural loss, compounded by decades of undercompensation for mandatory public services. A public service obligation (PSO) contract signed in November 2019 formalised government compensation for all scheduled services except Alfa Pendular and established conditions for financial restructuring. A debt haircut was completed in October 2023.

CP recorded a net profit of approximately EUR 3.6 million in 2023, the second consecutive profitable year following a first profit in 2022. In 2023, CP carried 173.3 million passengers, up 17% on the previous year. The estimated full-year figure for 2024 was 185 million.

The Green Rail Pass (Passe Ferroviário Verde), launched in October 2024 at EUR 20 per month, had generated more than 390,000 cumulative subscriptions by mid-2025, with 81% of holders having held no previous monthly CP pass. The Portuguese government compensates CP for foregone fare revenue under the scheme, amounting to approximately EUR 23.6 million plus VAT for 2024–25.

Market position and challenges

Passenger demand grew sharply across all service tiers through 2023–2025, driven in part by tariff policy and post-pandemic modal shift. In the first half of 2025, CP carried over 100 million passengers, a 9.3% increase on the same period in 2024, with Regional services up 133% and Intercidades up 48%. Fleet age remains the principal operational constraint.

A significant share of rolling stock requires replacement before reliability and capacity targets can be sustained, and the Alstom programme is the primary instrument for that transition. Infrastructure works by IP have periodically disrupted service delivery.

Policy relevance

CP operates under the EU’s public service obligation framework as defined in Regulation (EC) 1370/2007. Portugal’s ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) migration is managed by IP; Hitachi Rail has been contracted to develop a second STM to enable ETCS-equipped trains to operate on lines still using legacy train protection systems during the transition.

From 2027, CP is scheduled to exit its current classification within Portugal’s public administration, gaining greater operational and financial autonomy while remaining subject to strict fiscal rules. The PSO contract and the fleet renewal programme together represent the two principal policy instruments shaping CP’s trajectory in the medium term.