Linha do Algarve is a railway line in the region of Algarve, in southern Portugal, which connects the stations of Lagos to the west and Vila Real de Santo António to the east of the Portuguese region.
All passenger services are run by the national railway operator Comboios de Portugal. Cargo services are operated by Medway. The infrastructure is owned and maintained by Infraestruturas de Portugal. The main railway station is Faro, the most important cargo terminal is Loulé.
Four passenger services operate on the Linha do Algarve. The Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, CP Regional, and a special service during the summer, the InterRegional. The CP Regional trains operate the line completely from east to west with an interchange at Faro. The Alfa Pendular, Intercidades and InterRegional only serve Messines-Alte, Tunes, Albufeira, Loulé, and Faro.[1]
In 1858, the expansion of the Linha do Sul, today Linha do Alentejo, from Beja to Algarve was planned;[3] in 1864, the contract between Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro de Sul e Sueste and the Portuguese state was signed.[4]
The connection to Faro was completed on 21 February 1889,[5] but only opened on 1 July of the same year.[6]
The railway reached Olhão on 28 March 1904 (although the station was only opened on 15 May of that year[7]), Fuseta railway station on 1 September,[7] Luz on 31 January 1905,[7] Tavira on 19 March, and Vila Real de Santo António on 14 April 1906.[8] Towards Lagos, the stations of Algoz, Ferragudo and Lagos were opened on 10 October 1889,[4] 15 February 1903[9] and 30 July 1922.[10] The Vila Real de Santo António – Guadiana station was opened in the 1940s.[8]
^ abCABRITA, Aurélio Nuno (6 April 2006). "Primeiro comboio chegou a Vila Real de Santo António há 100 Anos". Barlavento Online. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
^CABRITA, Aurélio Nuno (13 September 2007). "Recordar a Inauguração do Ramal de Caminho de ferro de Silves a Portimão". Barlavento Online. Retrieved 11 December 2018.[dead link]
Cabrita, Aurélio Nuno (2014). O comboio no Algarve: festejos e inaugurações. Lisboa e Portimão: Casa do Algarve e Centro de Arte e Cultura Teixeira Gomes. ISBN 978-989-96133-3-1.
Marques, Maria da Graça Maia (1999). O Algarve Da Antiguidade aos Nossos Dias. Lisboa: Edições Colibri. ISBN 972-772-064-1.
Santos, Luís Filipe Rosa (1995). Os Acessos a Faro e aos Concelhos Limítrofes na Segunda Metade do Séc. XIX. Faro: Câmara Municipal. ISBN 972-772-064-1.
Santos, Luís Filipe Rosa (1997). Faro: um Olhar sobre o Passado Recente. Faro: Câmara Municipal. ISBN 972-772-064-1.