Across the whole country for 20 euros a month? That’s possible – even if you have to deal with similar infrastructure problems as Germany.
Germany and Portugal both have a 49-euro ticketThe “Portugal Ticket” is a little more limited than the German version. So far, you can’t use it everywhere. But in essence, the two models are comparable. 49 euros a month for rail travel throughout the country.
In the future, the price of both tickets will change a lot. But while the Germany ticket will increase by nine euros a month and will soon cost 58 euros, Portugal is going the other way – and reducing the price by more than half. In Portugal, there will soon be a 20-euro ticket.
Portugal plans 20-euro ticket: “Investing in people”
This was announced by the new Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in August. “We will decide to create a train ticket that costs 20 euros per month and offers access to all urban trains, all regional trains, all inter-regional trains and also the Intercidades network for a month,” promised the politician of the conservative party. Social Democratic Party. “It is an investment in people, in the environment, in the future.”
The 20-euro ticket will not only be valid for regional trains. The national Intercidades trains are comparable to the German InterCity trains. In Portugal there are other high-speed trains, the type is called “Alfa Pendular”. They are comparable to the ICEs. As the daily newspaper Public reported, these trains are excluded from the 20-euro ticket.
It is still unclear when the new ticket will come into force. Autumn was considered as an approximate starting point. The responsible Ministry of Infrastructure was unable to provide IPPEN.MEDIA but cannot give a specific date.
Few trains, poor infrastructure: 20-euro ticket despite rail problems
According to Portuguese media reports, some details still need to be clarified. Among other things, it is unclear whether a reservation will be necessary to use Intercidades trains. This is currently mandatory, similar to other countries. It is also said that the ticket will only be valid for trains and not – like the Deutschlandticket – for buses or subways.
There are also problems with the Portuguese trains. Like that News Journal reportedmany trains are outdated. Because there are delays in the delivery of new models, it is unclear whether the increased demand can be met by the 20 euro ticket.
In addition, the infrastructure is getting old. There is not enough space for long trains on several platforms. In many places, it is not possible to run more carriages. However, it is certain that there will be an increase in demand. The Portuguese are saving a lot of money with the new ticket. For example, a monthly ticket from Porto to Lisbon when using Intercidades, it is currently 473.15 euros. Soon it could be 20 euros.
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