Ramal da Figueira da Foz

Costeira stop (km 11.6)

Figueira da Foz - Pampilhosa
Route length:	50.4 km
Gauge :	1668 mm ( Iberian track )
Legend 0.0 Figueira da Foz 0.5 Linha do Oeste to Fontela Ponte Edgar Cardoso (IC2) Figueira da Foz - Coimbra (A14) 6.4 Maiorca 7.4 Túnel de Alhadas 519 meters 8.4 Alhadas - Brenha 11.6 Costeira 15.8 Santana - Ferreira 19.6 Liceia 23.7 Bebedouro 26.7 Arazede 29.3 Casal 31.0 Limede Cadima 35.4 Cantanhede National road N324 39.8 Cordinhã 41.4 Murtede 42.8 Enxofães 44.6 Silvã-Feiteira 46.5 Mala Linha do Norte from Porto 50.4 Pampilhosa Linha do Norte to Coimbra , Linha da Beira Alta to Guarda

Stop Santana-Fereirra (km 15.8)

The Ramal da Figueira da Foz , rarely also Ramal de Cantanhede , in German branch line from Figueira da Foz or branch line from Cantanhede , was a Portuguese railway line between the Portuguese port city of Figueira da Foz and the city of Pampilhosa via Cantanhede . The 50.4 kilometer route was opened in 1882 as part of the Linha da Beira Alta , until 2009 diesel vehicles served a regional train line Figueira da Foz-Pampilhosa-Coimbra.

If the traffic was originally stopped due to renovation work since January 5, 2009, a reopening is now considered unlikely despite the investments made.

history

Construction and opening

The concession for the construction of the new, second cross-border railway line to Spain was awarded to the Sociétè Financiére de Paris in 1878 , which in turn founded the Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses da Beira Alta in 1879 . Construction work began on August 10, 1880, considerably later than the part further inland between the border and Pampilhosa; Construction work there began on October 3, 1878. The Ramal da Figueira da Foz , previously an integral part of the Linha da Beira Alta , was opened on July 3, 1882 in the presence of the monarch D. Luís and the royal family on an opening voyage between Figueira da Foz and Vilar Formoso opened. The route between Figueira da Foz and Pampilhosa was largely designed by the engineer Saraiva de Carvalho .

The opening of the route, which now stretched from the Atlantic via Pampilhosa and Guarda to the Spanish border, was of great benefit to the port of Figueira da Foz, which consequently gained a considerable number of customers. At the same time, the city of Figueira, whose center was previously more at the mouth of the Mondego , developed more towards the east along the river bank. The first train connections mostly led either to the Spanish border or via a track connection in the Pampilhosa station to the next larger city of Coimbra or via the Ramal de Lousã to Lousã .

In 1891, through the opening of the shorter and geographically more favorable Ramal de Alfarelos , which connected the two routes Linha do Oeste ( Figueira da Foz - Leiria - Lisbon ) and Linha do Norte ( Porto - Coimbra - Entroncamento - Lisbon ) , the Ramal learned about it Figueira da Foz a significant loss of importance. From Figueira da Foz it was now much faster to take the train via Alfarelos instead of initially taking the branch line via Cantanhede and Pampilhosa. In 1946, the Portuguese state had the already bankrupt private company, which was still operating on the route, integrated into the newly founded, state-owned Companhia dos Caminhos-fe-Ferro Portugueses (CP), the predecessor of today's Comboios de Portugal .

Separation from the Linha da Beira Alta

The Ramal da Figueira da Foz has been officially separated from the Linha da Beira Alta since the 1970s, and there were hardly any continuous trains between Spain and Figueira da Foz. Especially after the Carnation Revolution and the subsequent wave of shutdowns of small branch lines, the branch line to Figueira was also threatened. Due to cost-saving measures, the line was completely single-track until the end, officially there were only three train stations ( estações ) Figueira da Foz, Cantanhede and Pampilhosa before operations were closed . The rest had been degraded to breakpoints ( apeadeiros ). Nevertheless, individual renovation measures have been carried out since 2000, such as the breakpoints of Maiorca , Alhadas , Santana-Feireira , Bebedouro and Cordinhã have been renovated.

The Figueira da Foz – Pampilhosa section has been closed since 2009 in order to rehabilitate the only tunnel on the line, the 519-meter-long, single-track Túnel de Alhadas . The closure took place, but construction work did not begin. The renovation began on January 5th, 2009, according to the Ministry of Transport including a thorough general renovation of the line to enable freight traffic between Spain and Figueira da Foz. For this reason, traffic will be suspended on the entire route. However, it is uncertain when trains will return to the route. The infrastructure operator pays € 13,680 per month for rail replacement services with buses between Figueira da Foz and Pampilhosa.

For the connection to the Figueira da Foz freight terminal, a direct track connection is also to be created between the Linha do Oueste and the Ramal da Figueira da Foz, as this has so far only been possible via a “hairpin” in Figueira station.

Until January 2009 there were three train connections between Figueira da Foz and Coimbra-A in each direction, which were mostly driven by diesel multiple units of the 0350 ( Allan ) type .

Shutdown

The Alhadas stop, renovated in 2006 (km 8.4)

In 2007, the infrastructure company REFER announced that it would renovate the line between 2008 and 2009, so it should represent a further opportunity to strengthen freight traffic between Spain and Portugal and relieve the also partly single-track Ramal de Alfarelos . Among other things, the current top speed of 50 km / h is to be increased. An electrification of the route was also still pending - there are only a few meters at the beginning and end of the electrification - and is required by various associations and parties, including the PCP . In order to increase the number of times on the route, however, further crossing options must be set up; the only train crossing can now only take place at Cantanhede station and at the respective start and end points.

Against the background of the desolate budget situation of the Portuguese state and the state infrastructure operator REFER, it is uncertain whether trains will ever run on the railroad again. Operation is no longer planned according to the 2012/13 “Strategic Transport Plan ” ( Plano Estratégico dos Transportes ). In 2013, REFER had the first tracks on the line excavated to protect them from metal theft . According to media reports, the tracks on the 50-kilometer route alone are worth a good 960,000 euros. The neighboring communities protested against the move.

With the discontinuation, long-term inclusion in the Metro Mondego regional light rail project, which is currently on hold, has become unlikely.

Web links

Commons : Ramal da Figueira da Foz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ramal da Figueira da Foz timetable. ( Memento of October 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF, 2.84 MB, Portuguese, English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Nelson Morais: Ramal sem comboios por tempo incerto. [Branch line for an indefinite period without trains] In: Jornal de Notícias . January 3, 2009.
2. ↑ Short treatise of the most important events of the Linha da Beira Alta ( Memento of the original of May 22, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ José Reibeiro da Silva and Manuel Ribeiro: Os Comboios em Portugal - Thu Vapor à Electricidade. Volume 1. [The railways in Portugal - From steam to electricity.] Terramar Verlag, Lisbon 2008, ISBN 978-972-710-410-9 .
4. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Tendering for tunnel renovation on the Portuguese government's website. )
5. ↑ Carlos Cipriano: Obras vão deixar 232 quilómetros de via-férrea sem qualquer comboio ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , [232 kilometers of tracks will be blocked due to construction work] In: Público . October 19, 2009. 
6. ↑ Press release: Ramal da Figueira da Foz - Esclarecimento. ( Memento of March 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) [Ramal da Figueira da Foz - Enlightenment], REFER.pt, January 14, 2009.
7. ↑ Carina Fonseca: ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Ramal da Figueira vai ser requalificado. ) [ Branch line from Figueira is being renovated] In: Jornal de Notícias . October 28, 2007
8. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Ramal da Figueira da Foz da linha da Beira Alta vai ser requalificado em 2008. ) [ Branch line from Figueira da Foz on the Beira Alta line will be renovated in 2008] In: Jornal O Figueirense . October 27, 2007.
9. ^ Demands of the PCP to strengthen rail traffic in the Coimbra area. (PDF, Portuguese), PCP , February 29, 2008.
10. ↑ Carlos Cipriano: Refer levanta carris na linha Figueira-Pampilhosa que valem 960 mil euros. Autarcas da zona protestam. In: Público. March 29, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2014 (Portuguese).