Ramal de Reguengos

Ramal de Reguengos, originally called Linha do Guadiana, was a railway branch line which connected the stations of Évora and Reguengos de Monsaraz, in Portugal. It was opened on 6 April 1927.

Ramal de Reguengos
Évora station
Overview
Status	closed
Termini	Évora Reguengos de Monsaraz
History
Opened	1927
Closed	1988
Technical
Line length	40.6 km (25.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge
Route map 000.000 L. Évora → Casa Branca 116,570 Évora × Est. Almeirim × IP2 000.000 R. Mora → Mora × R. da Somefe L. Évora → Estremoz × R. Timor 126,145 Paço Saraiva × Degebe (eastern branch) × Dagebe 129,585 Machede 135,736 Santa Susana 140,785 Balancho 146,329 Montoito 150,711 Falcoeiras (dem.) 153,752 Caridade (dem.) 157,181 R. de Monsaraz (cancelled proj.) × Guadiana Mourão R. Moura → Moura, Beja Portugal⇄Spain (cancelled proj.) Jerez de los Caballeros → Huelva → Sevilha Zafra → Mérida Location on the network + Évora × Reguengos (🔎)

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Portuguese and Spanish governments debated about extending the line across the border to Zafra. However, by the mid-1930s, the project had fizzled away.

On 29 August 1988, the then-commercial director of Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses announced plans in Diário de Lisboa to close the passenger services on the line, limiting traffic to freight trains, and to replace it with a bus service due to reduced demand. Simultaneously, the passenger traffic on the Moura and Portalegre lines was also announced to be terminated. This move was harshly criticized by railway unions and the local authorities. This began the decline of the line.

On July 30, 2023, the company Infraestruturas de Portugal reported that work had already begun to transform the line into an eco-trail. This project was coordinated by the Intermunicipal Community of Alentejo Central, after signing a subconcession contract with the Heritage Division of Infraestruturas de Portugal.  After its completion, the trail was integrated into the Grande Rota do Montado, an extensive network of pedestrian and cycling routes, around 182 km of which take advantage of old railway routes, such as the Ramal de Mora, akin to greenway projects.

See also

• List of railway lines in Portugal
• History of rail transport in Portugal

References

Sources

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