Alandroal, Portugal, July 23, 2025 (Lusa) - The instability of an embankment during the construction of the Évora-Elvas railway line, caused by a geological incident, has delayed the work and necessitated the implementation of new solutions. The infrastructure manager (IP) revealed on Wednesday that the team expects to complete stabilisation this month.
In response to questions from the Lusa news agency, the state-owned company Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) indicated that the geological incident occurred on a section between Alandroal and the East line in Elvas.
“The teams completed construction work on the platform [for the future railway] between Évora and Elvas, and only a small section remains, less than one kilometre long, where the team identified geological instability,” it said.
According to IP, the geological incident “caused the instability of a high excavation slope” on that section of the work, forcing the contractor to implement “additional containment and stabilisation solutions”.
“This work requires specialised equipment and teams, as well as adequate time to ensure its effectiveness and safety, and we expect to complete stabilisation this month,” he added.
The public company also acknowledged that the instability of the slope contributed to delays in the construction of this section.
Lusa questioned IP after the Público newspaper reported on Sunday that a shale slope on the construction site of the line, in the Alandroal area, Évora district, had "slid” after workers built it.
According to the newspaper, this is one of the reasons why, in the 81 kilometres between Évora and Elvas, workers have already laid ballast, sleepers and rails along the new line, except for this section that forms the slope.
In its response to Lusa, the company indicated that it would announce the expected completion date at a later time.
Last May, on the sidelines of the Portugal Railway Summit, held in Entroncamento, Santarém district, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, made a commitment to the work.
“This government is committed to completing the first section of the Southern International Corridor between Évora, Elvas and Caia by the end of this year, which will also serve high-speed trains in the future, but mainly freight in the first phase,” he said at the time.
The section between Alandroal and the East line in Elvas is part of the new Évora Line, whose construction involves a total investment of around €500 million and which is part of the future Southern International Corridor.
The authorities are building the Southern International Corridor, between Sines and the border at Caia, in Elvas, in the district of Portalegre, as part of the Investment Programme for the Expansion and Modernisation of the National Railway Network “Ferrovia 2020”.
The project aims to reduce journey times between Sines and Caia by using electric trains and to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of rail freight transport by allowing 750-metre-long freight trains to operate.
SM/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
