Porto, Aug 14, 2025 (Lusa) - The Civic Movement for the Vouga Line (MCLV) demanded on Thursday that the responsible entities "immediately restore" the train service between Sernada do Vouga and Oliveira de Azeméis, given that the technical conditions are met.
In a statement issued today, the MCLV "calls on and demands that the government of Portugal and the state-owned companies it oversees to manage our railway, namely Infraestruturas de Portugal and CP - Comboios de Portugal", take the necessary steps to allow "the immediate restoration of the commercial railway service on the central section of the Vouga Line".
"We cannot accept that at least the traffic that existed before the suspension of the railway service on this section in 2013, which is currently carried out by taxi, should not be restored immediately," the association said.
At issue is IP's announcement, on 4 August, of the completion of the full rehabilitation of the track on the Vouga Line, between Oliveira de Azeméis and Sernada do Vouga.
However, CP told Lusa that the recent works only improved the "technical circulation conditions" and did not allow the service to be fully resumed, despite having "an interest in resuming the service on the renovated sections".
"The resumption of the service depends on complementary interventions, also the responsibility of IP. This intervention will include adapting stops to accessibility conditions and reactivating junctions at strategic stations, which are essential to ensuring that the railway service is regular and of high quality. Until then, the replacement bus service will be maintained," CP said in its reply to Lusa.
Currently, trains run between Espinho-Vouga and Oliveira de Azeméis, to the north, and between Aveiro and Sernada do Vouga, to the south, with an alternative taxi service between Oliveira de Azeméis and Sernada do Vouga.
Lusa has asked IP on the subject and is awaiting a reply. The company has stated that a complementary intervention is planned for 2026 to restore the crossing of trains at the Pinheiro da Bemposta and Albergaria-a-Velha stations.
However, according to the MCLV, "the absence of the points at the crossing stations, namely Pinheiro da Bemposta and Albergaria-a-Velha, does not interfere with restoring the circulation that existed before the suspension of the train service".
The movement says that it is up to IP to "create the minimum conditions necessary for an employee to be placed temporarily at level crossings with guards that are not automated, namely at the Oliveira de Azeméis exit and the Albergaria-a-Velha entrance" and to "place temporary platforms at stops that are not currently equipped with the minimum conditions required by the operator (as was done on the Leixões Line)", while also speeding up the installation of needles so that CP can "implement more attractive timetables in the future".
CP, on the other hand, according to the MCLV, is responsible for "immediately reinstating the train services that previously existed when they were suspended" as soon as IP creates the conditions, and "immediately making the service more attractive by adding at least one more train in each direction in the morning and afternoon".
This would "reduce or cancel out the long waiting times for connections with the southern section, which currently exist in Sernada do Vouga", it argues.
The movement recalls that the central section of the Vouga Line connects "two important industrial areas in the Aveiro district, namely Oliveira de Azeméis and Albergaria-a-Velha, passing through the industrial centre of Travanca", and crosses "densely populated areas", even though "some platforms are relatively far from the areas of greatest concentration".
The railway also "relieves the heavy traffic congestion on the N1/IC2 that runs alongside the line" and connects "all the University of Aveiro centres", as well as increasing tourism.
JE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
