On the anniversary of the implementation of the 20-euro monthly Green Rail Pass, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced that these figures demonstrate the success of creating a “flexible, accessible, and above all digital product.”
According to CP — Comboios de Portugal, more than 67,000 subscriptions were sold in September, marking a monthly record. Over the year, nearly 2.2 million reservations were made on Intercity trains, with about 28% of the passes purchased by new customers.
Additionally, the railway company indicated that around half of the passengers using the Green Rail Pass utilized more than one service.
“We are successfully achieving our goal of bringing more people to public transport, thereby also meeting decarbonization targets,” emphasized the Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz.
When the measure was announced, the government indicated that CP would be compensated with 18.9 million euros annually, through a public service contract with the state, for the loss of revenue from the introduction of the Green Rail Pass.
On October 8, 2024, the CP Workers’ Commission stated that the compensation planned by the government for the company is insufficient, a claim that surprised and repulsed CP President Pedro Moreira, who affirmed that the amount was calculated rigorously by the company.
This year, on April 14, during a lunch debate hosted by the International Club of Portugal in Lisbon, the Minister of Infrastructure mentioned that if the revenue increase trend from the first two months of the year continues, CP will not require any compensation for the pass.
The Green Rail Pass replaced the national railway pass and allows travel on regional, interregional (2nd class), urban trains in Lisbon and Porto (outside the areas covered by metropolitan intermodal passes), urban trains in Coimbra, and Intercity trains (2nd class, with mandatory and advanced seat reservation).
