Promised and planned for several years, the electrification of the Western Line is finally going to happen. Following the launch of the public tender, the contract has now been awarded to contract to upgrade 43 km of this line between the Lisbon region and Torres VedrasLater, the section between Torres Vedras and Caldas da Rainha will be electrified.
The use of electric trains with the optimizations that will be made to the track layout and the installation of new railway signalling and telecommunications infrastructure will make it possible to reduce the travel time between Caldas and Lisbon and between Torres Vedras and Lisbon by around 30 minutes, as well as increasing the supply of trains from 16 to 48 in both directions. "The modernization of the Western line is a project that these people have been waiting for for many years and now we can say that it's really going to happen"said Pedro Nuno Santos, Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, in a statement.
The work, which will take two years, is budgeted at 61.7 million euros and will be carried out by a consortium made up of the companies Gabriel A. S. Couto, S.A., M. Couto Alves, S.A. and Aldesa Construcciones, S.A. S. Couto, S.A., M. Couto Alves, S.A. and Aldesa Construcciones, S.A., and will be the responsibility of Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP). There are plans to fully electrify the 43-kilometre stretch, upgrade five stations and six platforms, and create and improve access to the passenger platforms for people with reduced mobility. There are also plans to remove and automate level crossings or double the track in some sections to allow trains to cross without having to stop.
Once this work is completed, the West Line will have direct trains to Rossio station in Lisbon via the Sintra Line, connecting it to all the other rail infrastructure in the region. The Western Line "has been subject to marked degradation in recent years"as Pedro Nuno Santos acknowledges, even though it was once an important rail route. Between 2002 and 2005, Intercidades trains ran between Lisbon-Oriente and Leiria; between 1991 and 1998, Intercidades even ran between Lisbon and Figueira da Foz.
With an almost parallel route, the West Line has potential as an alternative to the North Line, for example, in the event of a breakdown or accident. It can also be used to bring cities such as Mafra, Bombarral, Caldas da Rainha, Óbidos, Peniche, Marinha Grande, São Martinho do Porto, Torres Vedras, Leiria or Figueira da Foz closer to the capital.
In OctoberInfraestruturas de Portugal has launched the 40 km between Torres Vedras and Caldas da Rainha at a cost of 40 million euros, work which, once consigned, should take ten months. The rest of the line, including the connection to Leiria, will not be renovated.
