It was made clear today that in the first quarter of 2025, the civil construction was completed, and now the steps for certification towards commercial opening will begin, stated Miguel Pinto Luz.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing conducted a technical visit this morning to the Beira Alta railway line, between the railway stations of Mortágua and Pampilhosa.
At the end of the journey, at the Pampilhosa station, Pinto Luz told reporters that the certification process is lengthy and “will certainly take several months.” Therefore, he did not provide any date for its reopening.
The Beira Alta Line closed in April 2022 for modernization works, which were initially expected to last nine months.
In November 2024, the segment between Guarda and Celorico da Beira reopened, while the segment between Celorico da Beira and Mangualde “will open in the coming weeks.”
According to Pinto Luz, the strategy that the Government outlined last year with Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), of the partial opening of each segment, “is a winning strategy,” as it “allowed citizens to use this line.”
He highlighted to journalists that the investment in a project “of this magnitude and complexity” remained below 675 million euros, with nearly 50% funded by community funds.
“This project is of enormous importance, notably the Mealhada Concordance. We cannot work on roadways or railways separately from what is the national port policy, from what is the logistics policy,” he stated.
According to the minister, investment in railways should be a priority since “Portugal is well ahead of the European average in terms of roadways but is far behind in terms of railways.”
“The previous government’s commitment was the right one; the current government accelerated and maintained this commitment, and this needs to surpass party differences, ideological differences, because we are talking about the country’s collective future,” he concluded.
