Promise made by infrastructure minister

Portugal’s minister for infrastructure and housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, has said that the Algarve railway line will be “completely electrified by 2024”.

Pedro Nuno Santos was being heard on Monday in the joint parliamentary commission on budget, finance and economy, public works, planning and housing, as part of the special consideration of the draft state budget for 2022 (OE2022).

In response to questions from deputies, the minister reiterated that “work is underway” on the Algarve line between Faro and Vila Real de Santo António.

Regarding the electrification between Tunes and Lagos, Santos stressed that the contract has already been signed and that the consignment agreement should be ready by June.

The electrification of the Algarve railway is divided into two separate projects. The first focuses on the eastern section of the railway between Faro and Vila Real de Santo António and is already underway, having started in November 2021.

All in all, around 140 kilometres of railway will be electrified, which will lead to “important benefits in terms of security, efficiency, quality of service and environmental sustainability”.