In the data made available to Lusa, the railway company counts 4,657 requests for the Integrated Mobility Service in 2024, an increase of 27% compared to the previous year.

This service is intended for “Customers with Special Needs”, namely people “with limitations, permanent or temporary, such as motor, sensory or intellectual, or also elderly or physically impaired people, who travel with babies on their lap or in a stroller, and pregnant people”, and is provided on all trains and at all stations.

For customers using wheelchairs or mobility scooters, access is limited to stations and trains adapted for this purpose and “prior booking is mandatory”, at least six hours in advance and up to 8 pm on the day before the intended departure for trains with departure times between 10 pm and 11:59 am.

According to the data provided, in 2024, the number of accessible stations increased from 139 to 216.

“CP continues working to reduce and eliminate, in the future, this need for booking,” the company assures, adding that it has sought to “ensure that customers with specific needs have increasingly barrier-free trips.”

With this objective, the installation of lifting platforms was completed last year on the fleet of regional electric units of the UTE 2240 series, comprising a total of 55 trains, “a modification that offers universal access to passengers of the regional service on the lines where they operate”, he mentions, recalling that these units have “universally accessible toilets, adequate spaces for manoeuvring wheelchairs and visual and audio information systems for passengers”.

At the same time, portable ramps were acquired for trains on the Cascais Line, “increasing the number of accessible stations”, the company added.

Urban services in Lisbon and Porto are accessible to wheelchair users, and boarding is done via a ramp that supports a weight of up to 300 kilos.

The Coimbra-Figueira da Foz, Coimbra-Aveiro-Porto, Entroncamento-Coimbra, Lisbon-Covilhã-Guarda and Lisbon-Tomar routes also have adapted toilets and allow wheelchair users to travel using a lift that can support up to 350 kilos.

On the Alfa Pendular and Intercidades services, there are few spaces available for people with reduced mobility.

The Alfa Pendular has two seats on each train for wheelchair users, via an elevator that supports a maximum weight of 300 kilos, and has an adapted toilet.

Intercidades only allows transport of customers in manual wheelchairs, as long as they can be folded, using the station's portable elevators for access.

“Due to restrictions on access to seats, it will be necessary to transfer to the train’s wheelchair after boarding and then to the seat. The customer’s wheelchair will be stored closed during the journey”, explains CP, highlighting that “a modernisation” of the Intercidades carriages is being planned, which includes the installation of wheelchair access lifts and toilets adapted for people with reduced mobility.