The remaining non-electric sections of the Algarve’s railway line are to be electrified to reduce railway running costs.
The Tunes to Lagos section, and the Faro to Real-de Santo António section will be converted at a cost of €31.6 million, according to a re-announcement from the Minister of Planning and Infrastructure.
Pedro Marques said the work to complete the modernisation of the Algarve railway line was part of a package of measures in a €2.7 billion spend - 95% of which is coming from the EU.
European money is to be spent on 1,200 kilometres of roads and railways across the country over the next six years.
All these investments already have been provided for in the Strategic Plan for Transport and Infrastructure which was launched by the previous government.
The minister expects tenders to go out “in the second half of this year” and work is not scheduled to be completed until 2021.
Manuel Queiró, the president of train company Comboios de Portugal,(CP) said the announcement "is not ideal, but it will be enough to ensure the operational sustainability of CP".
The electrification of the service is the work that most benefits CP as electric trains are cheaper to run. The electrification of the Algarve line will save around €400,000 a year in fuel.
The head of the Algarve’s Socialist Party António Eusébio welcomed re-confirmation of this investment, as it introduced significant improvements to the service provided to passengers and reduces the ecological footprint of the train service.
"The confirmation by Pedro Marques of these investments is extremely significant to the Algarve, a region that in recent years has been denied large public investments, so this marks a turning point in the government's relationship with the Algarve and its political commitment to the citizens," said Eusébio who did not mention the rail link to Faro airport.
