Traveling around Portugal will be cheaper than ever this summer and for the next few months, after the government of António Costa has managed to carry out one of its flagship measures in terms of mobility and transport. It does so along the same lines as other European economies such as Spain and its discounts on public transport or the single monthly ticket in Germany, aligning itself with EU planes in favor of sustainable mobility.
The Portuguese executive promised to implement a National Rail Pass, a monthly pass with no travel limits or restrictions of duration or distance to be able to get on any regional train that circulates in Portugal. The railway operator Comboios de Portugal has revealed that this pass, which will be valid for 30 days, will cost 49 euros and can be used from August 1.
Season tickets have already been on sale since July 1 and can be purchased at the ticket offices of Portuguese stations, without being able to be combined with other discounts already in force. This new ‘ticket’ will work like any other season ticket: it will have to be loaded onto a ‘Cliente CP’ card and recharged from time to time each month if you want to use it repeatedly.
Note: this ticket is not valid for all trains
This ticket will not be valid on the so-called “urban” trains, which serve the metropolitan areas of Porto and Lisbon, nor on the fast trains of the Alfa Pendular brand or on the InterRegionales semi-fast trains. Despite this, it will be possible to travel the country from north to south and from east to west, since regional trains serve most of the stations.
For example, you can reach the big capitals from the border stations with Spain: Valença do Minho (on the border with Galicia), Vilar Formoso (next to Salamanca), Elvas (near Badajoz) or Vila-Real do Santo António, bordering the province of Huelva. This line, which serves the tourist area of the Portuguese Algarve, is one of the most popular during the summer months. The full map of destinations can be found here.
Discounts on Portuguese trains
For those travelers who want to complete their trip with stays in the big cities, CP also has tourist passes for sale from 6 euros a day to make use of the suburban trains that allow them to reach highly sought after points such as Sintra or Cascais, in which surroundings of Lisbon; or the beach town of Aveiro, south of Porto.
Comboios de Portugal also offers significant discounts for certain age groups. For example, those over 65 years of age have a 50% discount on all the company’s trains, being able to purchase these tickets on the web, app and stations. Along the same lines, those under 25 years of age have a 25% discount on all services. These discounts, a priori, will not be applied to the new National Railway Pass of 49 euros.
“It is an economic and ecological transport solution, which allows for trips and other trips with flexibility throughout the national territory, within the scope of the continuous commitment to sustainable mobility and a more cohesive, green and connected country”, pointing out sources from the state company in a statement.
