Comboios de Portugal

Comboios de Portugal, (CP; English: Trains of Portugal) is a state-owned company which operates passenger trains in Portugal.

It started in October 1856 with the opening of the first railway line in Portugal. Most of the network is Iberian gauge lines, as in Spain. During the 1950s, the Portuguese railway network was about , its greatest extent. In 1975, the Portuguese Railway Company was nationalised When  passenger numbers decreased, various lines were shut down, with almost a quarter of the rail network being closed by the twenty-first century.

During 1999, it introduced a new service, the Alfa Pendular, which operates between Braga - Porto - Lisbon - Faro using tilting trains. Since 2005 the company runs only passenger train services. Management of the railway infrastructure is done by Infraestruturas de Portugal . Cargo activities were transferred to private company MSC who operate them under the Medway label. In 2015, a new long-term strategy for Portugal's railway network was started. The full electrification of the network, the provision of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), and the general modernisation and improvement of trunk routes and international services is being conducted. 

 Network 

 Broad gauge (1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in)): 2,603 km (1,617 mi), 1,351 km (839 mi) electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz AC and 25 km (16 mi) at 1.5 kV DC.
 Narrow gauge (metre gauge) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in): 188 km (117 mi) not electrified.
 The maximum extent of 3,592 km (2,232 mi) was reached in 1949, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s some lines were shortened and some totally closed.

References

Category:Railway companies
Category:Rail transport in Portugal