Lusitania (train)
Lusitânia (Portuguese) or Lusitania (Spanish) is a night train connection between the capitals of Portugal and Spain , Lisbon and Madrid . When Lusitânia Expresso was introduced in 1943 with standard passenger coaches, the connection was replaced in 1995 by a Trenhotel - a train made up of sleeping and couchette cars in the Talgo class .
The sleeper connection began operating on July 23, 1945 between the Lisbon Santa Apolónia and Madrid Chamartín train stations . The luxury train , initially operated by CIWL , comprised first and second class couchette and sleeping cars. One train left Lisbon and one train from Madrid each night, the train crossing usually took place in Cáceres , the locomotives were swapped in the Valencia de Alcántara station . The Lusitânia Expresso served as a nighttime alternative to the TER Lisboa Expresso , which ran between the two capitals during the day.
In 1986, the two railway companies used air-conditioned trains for the first time. The connection was given the new name Estrella Lusitânia (as a connection of the Spanish train type Tren Estrella), but remained the same with regard to the other characteristics.
In 1995 the train connection was replaced by the Talgo night train Lusitânia Comboio Hotel (Portuguese) and Trenhotel Lusitania (Spanish), which are still in service today . At the same time, the Talgo Luís de Camões was given up.
Since the beginning of 2012, the train no longer ran via the shortest rail connection between Madrid and Lisbon - via the Ramal de Cáceres - but, like the Sud-Express , accepted the detour via the Linha da Beira Alta . This had the advantage of being able to do without diesel locomotives.
Since October 2012, the Lusitânia train has been running together with the Sud-Express to Medina del Campo, where the train is separated and carried on to Madrid. CP and Renfe share the costs for the train section to Madrid , the costs for the train section to Hendaye are borne by CP alone.
In order to save costs, the train has also been running since December 2013 without an on-board restaurant, but with a cafeteria. The expenses for the Lusitânia in 2014 amounted to 2.2 million euros, the income to around 2 million euros. In 2014, 78,000 passengers used the train connection, compared to 62,000 in 2011.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , the train connection was discontinued from March 17, 2020. The reopening of the connection was planned for July 2020. After the opening of the border between Portugal and Spain on July 1, the train service was suspended. According to the CP , the time of the reopening is not yet known.
Individual evidence
- ^ Carlos Cipriano: Sud Expresso e Lusitânia Expresso passam a comboio único a partir de 3 de Outubro. (No longer available online.) In: Público . September 28, 2012, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 2, 2014 (Portuguese). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Carlos Cipriano: Sud Expresso e Lusitânia perdem carruagem-restaurante. In: Público. December 1, 2013, accessed March 2, 2014 (Portuguese).
- ↑ En Trenhotel Lusitania. Renfe, accessed August 27, 2016 (Spanish).
- ↑ Carlos Cipriano: CP reduz prejuízos no serviço internacional. In: Público. June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015 (Portuguese).
- ↑ CP retoma comboio para Espanha e França assim que fronteira reabrir - DN. Retrieved June 5, 2020 (Portuguese).
- ↑ Abertura das fronteiras. Comboios between Portugal and Espanha sem data para retomar. Retrieved July 6, 2020 (European Portuguese).
