Linha do Douro

The Douro line (Portuguese: Linha do Douro) is a 99-mile (160 km) railway line in northern Portugal that runs from Ermesinde to the eastern terminus at Pocinho. The line runs close to the Douro River for much of its route, offering scenic views of the river and valley. Passenger trains are operated by Comboios de Portugal (CP) and run between Porto São Bento and Pocinho, taking 3 hours and 20 minutes. Freight trains operated by Medway also run on the line.

Linha do Douro
A passenger train heading to towards Porto São Bento crossing the Douro River
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Infraestruturas de Portugal
Locale	Distrito do Porto Distrito de Vila Real Distrito de Bragança Distrito da Guarda
Termini	Ermesinde Pocinho
Stations	44 (Ermesinde–Pocinho)
Service
Type	Commuter rail Regional rail
Operator(s)	Comboios de Portugal (passenger) Medway (freight)
Depot(s)	Porto - Contumil
Rolling stock	CP 1400 CP 592.0 / 592.2 Medway 1400 Medway 1900 Medway 1960 Medway 335.0 Medway 5600 Medway 4700
History
Opened	Stages between 1875 and 1887
Technical
Line length	160 km (99 miles)
Number of tracks	2 (Ermesinde - Caíde) 1 (Caíde - Pocinho)
Track gauge	1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC OHLE (Ermesinde to Marco de Canavezes)
Operating speed	Maximum 140 km/h (87 mph)
Signalling	Automatic with Orientable Block (Ermesinde to Caíde) Telephonic (Caíde to Pocinho)

Location on the network

+ Ermesinde × Pocinho (🔎)

Freight train near Valeira on the Douro line, September 2008

Tua station on the Douro line: a Série 1400 locomotive heading a passenger train (left) passing a freight train headed by a Série 1960 (right)

Construction

Section	Length	Opened
Ermesinde–Penafiel	30.311 km	July 29, 1875 (1875-07-29)
Penafiel–Caíde	07.328 km	December 20, 1875 (1875-12-20)
Caíde–Juncal	18.818 km	September 15, 1878 (1878-09-15)
Juncal–Régua	38.371 km	July 15, 1879 (1879-07-15)
Régua–Ferrão	15.813 km	April 4, 1880 (1880-04-04)
Ferrão–Pinhão	07.611 km	June 1, 1880 (1880-06-01)
Pinhão–Tua	12.993 km	September 1, 1883 (1883-09-01)
Tua–Pocinho	31.678 km	January 10, 1887 (1887-01-10)
Pocinho–Côa	09.061 km	May 5, 1887 (1887-05-05)
Côa–Barca d'Alva	18.882 km	December 9, 1887 (1887-12-09)
Continuation to La Fuente de San Esteban	Barca d'Alva–La Fuente de San Esteban railway	December 9, 1887 (1887-12-09)

Route

From west to east, the line runs from the junction at Ermesinde to Pocinho. The line formerly continued east for a further 28 kilometres to the Spanish border. Until 1984, the track connected to a Spanish line, thus allowing through trains to/from Salamanca.

Passenger trains normally run from São Bento station in Porto to Pocinho, with some not running as far as the eastern terminus. The line is built to the Iberian gauge of 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in). The line is single track, apart from a double track section between Ermesinde and Caíde (the authorisation for the dualling work was given by CP in 1993).

In 1984, the Spanish rail operator RENFE announced the closure of its connecting line from La Fuente de San Esteban to the Portuguese border. With the loss of international traffic, CP had to close its line east of Barca d'Alva to Spain. The service was cut back to Pocinho in 1988, which has since remained the eastern terminus of the Douro line.

As of May 2023, there are intentions to reactivate the extension from Pocinho to the border town of Barca d'Alva, with a preliminary study commissioned on May 10th.

Branch lines

There were formerly five metre gauge branch lines connecting with the Douro line, but the last of these closed in 2009. Geographically, from west to east they were:

• The Penafiel to Lixa and Entre-os-Rios Railway, which closed in the 1920s after less than 20 years of operation
• The Tâmega line, which closed in 2009 and ran north from a junction with the Douro line at Livração
• The Corgo line, which closed in 2009 and ran north from a junction with the Douro line at Regua
• The Tua line, which closed in 2008 and ran north from a junction with the Douro line at Tua
• The Sabor line, which closed in 1988 and ran north-east from a junction with the Douro line at Pocinho

See also

• List of railway lines in Portugal
• List of Portuguese locomotives and railcars
• History of rail transport in Portugal
• CP Class 1400 - diesel locomotives frequently used on the line
• National Railway Museum (Portugal)
• Sorefame - builder of most of the rolling stock used on the line
• Barca d'Alva–La Fuente de San Esteban railway

References

Sources

• "2019 Network Statement" (PDF). 7 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2019. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)