en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Portuguese government plans to launch the tender for the branch line concession of the Cascais Line (Linha de Cascais) in the second half of 2027, with the concession set to begin in 2028 and last for six years. The company awarded the concession for this line will be authorized to use rolling stock from Comboios de Portugal (CP) and hire some of its employees.

This private branch line concession of the CP line is one of the measures introduced by the government in the transport sector, with the relevant model and lines involved to be approved in September. Currently, the Cascais Line has been confirmed to proceed, as announced by the Prime Minister at the last congress of the Social Democratic Party. This line operates independently, simplifying the process. The Sintra Line (Linha de Sintra) may also move forward, as acknowledged by the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing at the ECO conference "Public Transport: Ten Years On, What Has Changed?" held on June 22. In 2025 alone, the Sintra Line accounted for nearly half of CP's 208 million passengers and, like the Cascais Line, has positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). The Sado Line (Linha do Sado) and urban trains in Porto may be excluded, as the government had requested CP to study these lines, but at least for now, this is the case.

For the company winning the branch line concession bid, the government plans to launch the tender in the second half of 2028, allowing it to use CP's rolling stock and pay usage fees. New trains are expected to begin delivery the following year. The President of CP stated at the same conference that of the 153 electric multiple units purchased from Alstom, "the first batch will start arriving in 2029 and will be used on the Cascais Line." Among these 30 trains, the first 25 are dual-voltage units, capable of operating before the line is fully converted to the European standard of 25 kilovolts, a project being carried out by Infraestruturas de Portugal. In addition to rolling stock, the concessionaire may also take over CP employees, not only those from the Cascais Line but also staff from central services.

CP's study on the branch line concession submitted to the government includes a report prepared by consulting firm Deloitte, which held discussions with potential concession operators, such as the Barraqueiro Group and Transdev, regarding possible operating conditions. This matter was previously reported by the newspaper Público. The government aims to advance the branch line concession by 2028, with a maximum duration of only six years, as an international public tender for the railway service concession is expected to be launched in 2034. Minister of Infrastructure Miguel Pinto Luz has consistently emphasized that the branch line concession is not a privatization of CP, but rather allows "CP's resources to be redirected to areas where the market cannot operate."