At issue is a contract signed with the consultancy firm Trenmo providing for a study on the regional service on the Porto-Entroncamento axis, within the scope of a competition for demand studies for regional services on the Minho, Norte, Beira Alta, Beira Baixa and Algarve lines, carried out to finance the purchase of 55 regional railcars included in the order for 117 trains.

The studies are divided into four lots, the first covering the Minho Line and its "potential market for regional and long-distance transport demand, namely on the high-speed axis between Lisbon/Porto/Vigo/A Coruña and connection to Francisco Sá Carneiro airport".

This lot foresees "the analysis of six supply scenarios that cover the Lisbon-Porto-Corunha international trains (in a first phase High Speed ​​+ conventional and in a second phase only High Speed), Faro-Corunha international trains (conventional and night, with seats and bed service), regional and interregional offer Porto-Viana do Castelo – Valença".

Lisbon night train

The second lot concerns the section of the Northern Line between Porto and Entroncamento, including Coimbra and Aveiro, aiming at three scenarios that encompass the "paced offer of the Regional train, on the Coimbra-Aveiro section and on the Entroncamento-Coimbra section, with the extension of this offer to Figueira da Foz" and a "new interregional offer between Lisbon and Porto at night".

As for the third lot, which concerns the Beira Alta and Beira Baixa lines, the study will analyse the "demand for regional, medium and long-distance transport over Lisbon and Porto and international connections to Salamanca".

Three scenarios are envisaged that cover the "long-distance supply on the Beira Alta and Beira Baixa Lines, Lisbon-Guarda-Salamanca (via Beira Alta), Lisbon-Covilhã-Guarda-Pampilhosa-Lisbon; Lisbon-Covilhã, Lisbon-Covilhã-Guarda (analyzing the feasibility of its extension to Porto) and on the Porto-Guarda-Covilhã section".

This lot also provides for the analysis of the "regional and interregional offer on the Beira Alta and Beira Baixa Lines" and "the existence of High-Speed ​​services with a stop in Coimbra that allows transfers between the conventional offer and High Speed".

Algarve trains

As for the last lot, which refers to the Algarve Line and the study of demand and regional and long-distance transport on the connection to Lisbon and Évora, CP intends to study five scenarios that cover, for example, the "regional offer on the Tavira-Faro axis and long-distance offer between Lisbon and Vila Real de Santo António, between Porto-Lisbon-Faro and between Lisbon-Lagos" and the "regional and interregional offer on the Faro-Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António-Faro sections".

The analysis also includes "Braga-Vila Real de Santo António high-speed trains", which also aim to "enhance the connection to the international southern corridor - long-distance train between Faro-Elvas".

"With the preparation of these studies, the aim is to evaluate the potential passenger demand in the areas of influence" of the lots analyzed "over a 30-year horizon, according to scenarios of socioeconomic and infrastructure evolution and the supply of railway services".

High-speed trains

The future high-speed line should connect Porto and Lisbon in one hour and 15 minutes, with possible stops in Gaia, Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria. The Porto-Vigo journey is estimated to take 50 minutes.

The first phase (Porto-Soure) of the high-speed line in Portugal is expected to be completed in 2030, and the second phase (Soure-Carregado) is scheduled for completion in 2032, connecting to Lisbon via the Northern Line.

As for the connection between Porto and Vigo, in Galicia (Spain), scheduled for 2032, stations are planned at Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, Braga, Ponte de Lima and Valença.