The new electric trains will allow CP (Comboios de Portugal) to restructure its service, with new timetables already available for rail travel in the Algarve. Currently, CP has already increased the frequency of trains on the Regional service between Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António, in some cases eliminating the need to change trains in Faro. While on the Regional service, trains stop at all stations; CP has implemented the Interregional service in the Algarve, which makes fewer stops, resulting in a faster journey.

According to Público, from 19 July, 16 trains will run between Vila Real de Santo António and Lagos, four more than before. The biggest change is the reduction in journeys requiring a change in Faro, something that has been the case for 25 years.

Faster journeys

The electrification of the Algarve line reduces travel time. From 19 July, the travel time between Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António is expected to decrease from 3 hours and 9 minutes to 2 hours and 39 minutes. On this stretch, the reduction in travel time is primarily due to eliminating the need for a mid-journey transfer.

However, the same news outlet also reports that the most noticeable improvement will be on journeys between Faro and Lagos, which will be reduced by 20 minutes. For those travelling the entire line on the Interregional service, the journey will take up to 2 hours and 20 minutes, depending on the direction.

Similar schedules

Despite the increased frequency of journeys, no major changes are expected to the schedules of the last trains. That is, the last train will leave Vila Real de Santo António at 8:34 pm, and in Lagos, the last train is scheduled for 8:22 pm. Replacement of Railcars

The railway landscape in the Algarve will be updated: where blue carriages used to run on the train lines, they will be replaced by yellow carriages, like those seen, for example, on the Linha do Norte.

However, according to the Público newspaper, the old railcars that circulate in the Algarve until 19 July will be moved to reinforce operations in the Oeste and Alentejo regions. The same source says that CP (Comboios de Portugal) guarantees that this will make operations in these regions less hampered.

Contact with CP

The Portugal News tried to contact CP – Comboios de Portugal; however, we did not receive a response in time for the publication of this article.