Eurail Portugal Rail Travel Pass The Portugal Rail Pass offers 4 days of unlimited anywhere anytime 1st class rail travel within 15 days. Offering unlimited travel in Portugal it is one of the more popular single country European rail passes.

Portugal is an ancient nation and through more than 1000 years it has developed a specific culture while being influenced by the various civilizations that crossed the Mediterranean world. Use your Portugal rail pass to explore Portugal and savour traditions from early civilizations from regions discovered throughout the world during the 500 year long Portuguese empire.

The Eurail Portugal Rail Pass Entitles You To:

• Available for 4 days of travel within a 15 day period.
• Children aged 4-11 years pay half price.
• Children under the age of 4 years travel free.
• The Portugal rail pass also entitles you to benefit from numerous bonuses.
  
  

Using Your Eurail Portugal Rail Pass

• Always have your pass validated prior to your first train trip in Europe. Do NOT validate it yourself.
• Passes are issued on identity, not to be used by any other person.
• The Flexi Passes have a schedule with boxes to fill in the date of travel. Always fill in the boxes yourself before embarking on the train.
• When taking an overnight train leaving after 7 pm, please fill in the next day of travel in your Flexi Passes. Travel days would have to be within the validity of the pass.
• There are free bonus and discounted bonus that entitle you to reductions with every pass your purchase.
• When you use a free bonus, you will have to use a day of your pass. A discounted bonus will not utilize any day of your pass.
  
  

PORTUGAL RAIL TRAVEL PASS - View Pass Prices and Purchase Online Eurail Portugal Rail Pass (including child passes) View information on all other available Eurail Travel Passes

More About Portugal Rail Travel

Portgugese Metro Rail

The two principal metropolitan areas have subway systems: Lisbon Metro and Porto Metro, both with more than 35 kilometres (22 mi) of commercial lines. Both systems are linked by sharing stations with High-speed Pendolino trains, known as Alfa Pendular, that link both cities. The South Tagus Metro system is in construction and will connect the urban areas south of Lisbon. Another metro system for Coimbra is intended.

The Pendolino lines (Alfa pendular) of Comboios de Portugal (CP) links Braga, Porto, Coimbra, Lisbon and Faro, linking the country in a vertical way. Intercity and regional trains link these cities with many other cities throughout the country. Construction of a high-speed TGV line connecting Porto and Lisbon, and Lisbon with Madrid will begin in 2008. The line between Porto and Lisbon will have five stations (Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Ota New Airport and Lisbon), but the trains in rarely stop in the intermediary stations. The New Airport for Lisbon will be built at the same time in Ota.

The introduction of a light rail system in the Oporto Metropolitan Area is a true revolution in the field of transport and travel in this Region.

For the citizens, the light rail system, which has long been yearned for, is a new concept in public transport, an efficient, comfortable, safe and modern reality. The Metro do Porto, which is the largest investment in the transport sector currently underway in the European Union, is, at all levels, an extraordinary engine of development for the Oporto Metropolitan Area and for the country.

The Metro do Porto network, which is more than 70 km in length, was designed with the people passengers and their commuting needs in mind. Every day, we transport tens of thousands of passengers in perfectly comfortable and safe conditions and with excellent efficiency.

The Metro do Porto network associates speed and manoeuvrability to a strong component of urban and landscape renovation, which, as can be seen, has led to the redesign and valorisation of all the municipalities of the region. Our entire urban environment is being transformed. A transformation towards quality and modernisation.

In operational terms, the Metro do Porto brought to the people of Oporto a totally new concept – intermodality. With one single passenger ticket, Andante, the people of Oporto can travel on any kind of public transport they like throughout the metropolitan area, using an integrated fare and zone division structure.

More About Portugal

Portugal, in Southern Europe, shares the Iberian peninsula at the western tip of Europe with Spain. Geographically and culturally somewhat isolated from its neighbor, Portugal has a rich, unique culture, lively cities and beautiful countryside.

Although it was once one of the poorest countries in Europe, its incorporation into the European Union has meant increased prosperity -- and increased prices for travelers. Still, it may be one of the best value destinations on the Continent. This is because the country offers outstanding landscape diversity, due to its North-South disposition along the western shore of the Iberian peninsula. You can travel in a single day from green mountains in the North, covered with vines and all varieties of trees to rocky mountains, with spectacular slopes and falls in the Centre, to a near-desert landscape in the Alentejo region and finally to the glamorous Algarve.

If you want a condensed view of European landscapes, culture and way of life, Portugal might very well fit the bill.

History of Portugal Railways

Only after World War II with the recovery of the economy, and as a consequence of electrification policies, taking advantage of funds supplied by the Marshall Plan, a firm decision to construct an underground system in Lisbon took shape.

The company was founded on January 26th 1948 to conduct the technical and economic study of a passenger transportation system, which would operate below ground level in the city of Lisbon. The authorisation for the installation and development of public services was granted on July 1st 1949.

Construction works began on August 7th 1955 and four years later on December 29th 1959 the system started its operation. The initial section of line opened to the public was an Y-shaped formed by two distinct sections of line, Sete Rios (presently, Jardim Zoológico) – Rotunda (presently, Marquês de Pombal), and Entrecampos – Rotunda (Marquês de Pombal) joining a common section of line, Rotunda (Marquês de Pombal) - Restauradores. Rotunda (Marquês de Pombal) station enabled the transfer between the two first sections of line. It was a big event for the city and had an enormous success, transporting 15.3 million passengers in the first year. At the time of its opening the Lisbon Underground Railway was the fourteenth in Europe and the twenty-fifth in the world. The first was the London Underground Railway in 1863, developed from a concept of Charles Pearson, the inventor of this means of transportation.

The Lisbon underground railway became an important driving force in the development of the city, drivingf urban expansion and acting as the main component of the city's transportation system due to its safety, speed and reliability.

The first phase of construction was divided in several steps. In 1963 the Restauradores/Rossio section was opened, in 1966 Rossio/Anjos and in 1972 the Anjos/Alvalade section was completed. The platforms were progressively extended until 1982 so as to accommodate trains with six cars.

In 1975 the company was nationalised and in 1978 the company became a State Owned Enterprise (Empresa Pública) new articles of association were published and its official name was change to Metropolitano de Lisboa E.P.

In 1988, sixteen years after the last expansion, two new extensions were opened, one from Sete Rios (presently, Jardim Zoológico) to Colégio Militar/Luz covering the stations of Laranjeiras, Alto dos Moinhos and Colégio Militar, and the other from Entrecampos to Cidade Universitária.

In 1993 two sections of line were opened, Cidade Universitária – Campo Grande and Alvalade – Campo Grande. Located on top of the Campo Grande viaduct, it was the first elevated station of the Lisbon Underground Railway. At the same time the new Calvanas (PMO II) depôt came into service, the access to this depôt is made from the viaduct through the shunting zone next to Campo Grande station.

In 1995 the separation of the lines in Rotunda (Marquês de Pombal) station, was a fundamental mile stone for the expansion of the underground, marking the first step towards the establishment of a network. Two independent lines were established with transfer stations at Rotunda (Marquês de Pombal) and Campo Grande.

In 1997 two new sections entered operation, Colégio Militar/Luz – Pontinha, on the Blue Line, and Rotunda (Marquês de Pombal) – Rato, on the Yellow Line.

By the end of 1997 the section between Restauradores and Rossio was closed to enable the connection works between Rossio – Baixa/Chiado and Restauradores - Baixa/Chiado. Due to a fire which took place at Alameda station, during the night of the 19th October 1997, the traffic between Areeiro and Martim Moniz (previously Socorro) stations was only reestablished in March 1998. From this date on, the system is operated with three independent lines. The blue Line "Pontinha – Restauradores", the Yellow Line "Campo Grande – Rato", and the Green Line "Campo Grande – Martim Moniz (Socorro)".

In April 1998 the section of line Rossio – Baixa/Chiado – Cais do Sodré entered service. Baixa/Chiado station is a double station, but on this date only the section serving the Green Line was opened, the other section serving yhe Blue Line had its opening planned for August 1998, facilitating the transfer between Lines Blue and Green.

In May 1998 the newRed Line "Alameda – Oriente" entered service. This was a particularly important milestone in the history of the Metropolitano de Lisboa (Lisbon Underground Railway) for it was the first time since its opening, in 1959, that a complete new independent line was built and put into service.

Apart from the alteration of Alameda station which was transformed into a double station enabling the transfer between the Green Line and the Red Line, the new line covers six stations: Olaias, Bela Vista, Chelas, Olivais, Cabo Ruivo and Oriente. Cabo Ruivo and Olivais stations will entered service only in July and November respectively. With the opening of this line the Lisbon Underground Railway has four independent lines, with a total length of about 30 km, and 36 stations of which four are double stations enabling the transfer between lines.
The construction of the Red Line was particularly important not only because it served, through Oriente station, the important event which was the EXPO' 98 but also because of its contribution to the urban development of the whole western area of the city.

In July 1998 Cabo Ruivo station, on the Red Line, was opened to the public.

In August 1998 the Restauradores and Baixa/Chiado connection as well as the second section of Baixa/Chiado station came into operation thus enabling the transfer between the Blue and the Green Lines. Also in August the third depôt (PMO III) at Pontinha will enter service.

In November 1998 Olivais station, on the Red Line, was opened to the public.

The new ML 97 rolling stock entered revenue service in February 1999. On the same date the new Pontinha (PMO III) dêpot enters started industrial operation.

In November 2002 the section Campo Grande - Telheiras, on the Green Line entered operation.

In March 2004 the section Campo Grande - Odivelas, on the Yellow Line covering five new stations, Quinta das Conchas, Lumiar, Ameixoeira, Senhor Roubado and Odivelas, entered operation. For the first time the Metropolitano the Lisboa went beyond the limits of Lisbon

In May 2004 the section Pontinha - Amadora Este, on the Blue Line with two new stations, Alfornelos and Amadora Este, entered operation.

The next network sections to enter operation are the following:

Baixa/Chiado - Sta Apolónia, Blue Line (2nd 2007)
Alameda - S. Sebastião, Red Line (3rd 2008)

So, by the end of 2008 the network will then consist of four independent lines with a total length of about 40 Km and 52 stations. The Lisbon Underground Railway will constitute the backbone of the city´s transportation resources.

Valid for unlimited travel on the entire Portugese Rail network the Potugal Rail Pass is outstanding value for money.

PORTUGAL RAIL TRAVEL PASS - View Pass Prices and Purchase Online Eurail Portugal Rail Pass (including child passes) View information on all other available Eurail Travel Passes

Please Note: As Eurail rail travel passes are not able to be purchased in the country of travel advance purchase is essential and will also cost you less.