Tâmega line

The Tâmega line (Linha do Tâmega) was a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge railway line in northern Portugal. It closely followed the course of the Tâmega River. It closed in 2009.

History

The southern part of the line opened in 1909; it ran between Livração (the junction with the main Douro line) and Amarante in the District of Oporto, near the River Tâmega. The line was eventually opened as far north as Arco de Baúlhe in 1949, the last such extension to Portugal's narrow gauge railway network. Livração station was a junction with the main Douro Valley railway line; it is still served by CP's 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge trains to and from Oporto.^[1]

Construction of section	Distance	Opened
Livração – Amarante	012.77 km	21 March 1909
Amarante - Chapa	008.43 km	22 Nov 1926
Chapa - Celorico de Basto	013.37 km	20 March 1932
Celorico de Basto - Arco de Baúlhe	017.16 km	15 Jan 1949

Train services were operated by Comboios de Portugal (CP); the three Série 9100 diesel railcars were built in 1949 by the Swedish company NOHAB specifically for use on the Tâmega line. They continued in service until 2002 (when replaced by Série 9500 units, purchased secondhand from Yugoslavia). CP Série 9020 diesel locomotives were also used on the line.

Closure

The northern section of the line, between Amarante and Arco de Baúlhe, closed in 1990. Arco de Baúlhe station was served by trains for little over 40 years.

The remaining part of the line south of Amarante closed in 2009 - ostensibly due to the need for urgent repair work. The Strategic Transport Plan, published by the Portuguese Government in October 2011, showed that the Tâmega line required the highest level of subsidy (at €2.50 per passenger per kilometre) of any railway in Portugal and thus the line was listed for permanent closure.^[2] On 1 January 2012 the replacement bus service was also withdrawn.^[3]

Other narrow gauge railways in the Douro Valley

Corgo line - closed 2009
Sabor line - closed 1988
Tua line - closed 2008

References

^ Portugal Narrow Gauge by J. Organ, Middleton Press, 2010, ISBN 978 1 906008 67 3
^ The Portuguese Government's Strategic Transport Plan for 2011-2015 (in Portuguese)
^ CP press release confirming the closure of the line

Railway lines⁺ in Portugal
including trolleybuses, cable cars and elevators

IP
Iberian-gauge
railwaysᴮ^#

Wyes	Agualva Águas de Moura Bombel Ermidas Funcheira Nine† Norte Setil Poceirão São Gemil Sete Rios Tunes† Verride Xabregas

IP
metre-gauge
railways¹^#

Linha do Douro branch lines	Ave/Basto‡† Côa‡† Corgo† Lamego‡† Sabor† Tâmega† Tua†‡ Metro de Mirandela†° Transversal do Minho‡† Chacim‡† Valpaços‡† Vinhais‡† Crestuma‡†
Porto-Minho network	Alto Minho‡† Braga-Chaves‡† Braga-Guimarães‡† Guimarães↑ Lima‡†° Matosinhos† Póvoa e Famalicão↑ São Pedro da Cova‡† Litoral do Minho‡† Lanhoso‡† Transversal do Minho‡† Famalicão‡† Cávado‡†
Vouga/Viseu network	Aveiro Aveiro-Mar† Dão† Vouga
Other	Chamusca‡† Penafiel† Avis‡† Cacilhas‡† Pedreiras de Caxias†

Other
heavy-rail
lines^#

High-speed linesⁱ	Aveiro-Salamancaⁱ‡† Évora-Faro-Huelvaⁱ‡† Lisboa-Madridⁱ‡† Lisboa-Portoⁱ‡† Porto-Vigoⁱ‡†
Isolated port railways	Horta²†° Lena¹⁶†° Monges⁶†° Pego do Altar⁶†° Pejão⁶†° Ponta Delgada²†° Pomarão¹†° Funchal¹†° Aljustrel (mines)³†° Alfeite† São Pedro da Cova mine† Leixões (port)† Panasqueira† Lousal†

Tourist, urban,
industrial and
military lines

Metros

Lisbon Metroⁱ	Blue Yellow Green Red
Porto Metroⁱ	A B C D E F G‡

Trams

Braga⁹†
Coimbra¹†
Faro¹‡†
Lisbon⁹
Portoⁱ
Sintra¹††

Trolleybuses

Amadora‡
Braga†
Coimbra
Porto†

Beach railways

Caparica⁶
Barril⁶

Other mechanical
non-electric systems

Larmanjat⁴⁺†
Braga⁹↑
Póvoa de Varzim†
Mira†
Torres Novas†
Pinhal de Leiria†
Escola de Engenharia in Tancos†
Ponta Delgada a Furnas e RibeirA Grande‡†
Palácio de Cristal†

Horsecars

Aveiro†
Braçal†
Braga⁹↑
Coimbra↑
Linha do Corgo↑
Elvas†
Figueira da Foz†
Funchal⁶†
Lisbon↑
Portoⁱ↑
Póvoa de Varzim↑
S. Jacinto†
S. Pedro Muel†
Torreira†
Campo Entrincheirado de Lisboa†
Fort of Trafaria†
Fort of São Julião da Barra†
Polígono de Tancos†
Funchal - Câmara Lobos‡†
São Martinho de Porto†
Fábrica de Pólvora†
Companhia das Lezírias†
São Vicente - Santana‡†

Funiculars

Bica⁹
Bom Jesusⁱ
Castelo Branco‡
Freiras†
Glória⁹
Guindais††
Lavra⁹
Nazaré
Ourém‡
Santa Luzia††
Sintra‡†
Tomar‡†
Viseu

Cable cars and
rack railways
(including aerial lifts
and people movers)

Surface	Estrela↑ Graça↑ Monte¹†‡ S. J. Malta‡ São Sebastião† SATUOeiras†
Gondola lifts	Achadas da Cruz Aroeira‡† Botânico Cabo Girão Cântaro Covão Expo Fajã dos Padres Funchal-Monte Gaia Garajau Lagoa Penha Rocha do Navio Sete Fontes‡ Skiparque Torre Viriato Zoo