In a response to queries following the announcement of completed works, CP expressed interest in resuming commercial service on the newly renovated sections of the Vouga Line. However, the improvements between Oliveira de Azeméis and Sernada do Vouga by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) have only enhanced technical circulation conditions.
The resumption of commercial service is contingent on further interventions by IP. These interventions will include adapting stops for accessibility and reactivating crossings at strategic stations, necessary for regular and quality rail service. Until then, a replacement road service will continue, as stated in their response.
Currently, trains operate between Espinho-Vouga and Oliveira de Azeméis in the north, and between Aveiro and Sernada do Vouga in the south, with an alternative taxi service between Oliveira de Azeméis and Sernada do Vouga.
Questions on the topic have been posed to IP, with a response awaited, though the company has indicated a complementary intervention is planned for 2026 to restore train crossings at Pinheiro da Bemposta and Albergaria-a-Velha stations.
The announcement made on August 4 by IP concerned the completion of the full rehabilitation of the line between Oliveira de Azeméis and Sernada do Vouga. The undertaking amounted to a total investment of 6.2 million euros as part of the Vouga Line’s rehabilitation plan, which aims to renew the entire 96-kilometer extension of the line.
The rehabilitation project entailed the renewal of the rail superstructure with total replacement of rail, sleepers, and fastenings, along with track ballasting and heavy mechanical tampering, according to the statement.
IP highlighted that the Vouga Line serves thousands of passengers, directly catering to populations in the municipalities of Espinho, Santa Maria da Feira, São João da Madeira, Oliveira de Azeméis, Albergaria-a-Velha, Águeda, and Aveiro.
The line’s rehabilitation plan also involves automating about 70 level crossings, stabilizing embankments, and improving drainage systems. The installation of protective fencing and the enhancement and relocation of some halts are also included in the plan.
According to a press release from IP, sections between Santa Maria da Feira and Oliveira de Azeméis, Oliveira de Azeméis and Sernada do Vouga, and Sernada do Vouga and Águeda have already seen interventions. Additionally, rehabilitation works on the road-rail bridge at Sernada do Vouga and structural rehabilitation and anti-corrosive protection on the Rio Águeda bridge have been completed.
