Comboios de Portugal

Comboios de Portugal

Company type	Incorporation
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Portuguese Railway Company
Founded	15 April 1975[1]
Headquarters	Lisbon , Portugal
Key people	Nuno Pinho da Cruz Leite de Freitas, Pedro Miguel Sousa Pereira Guedes Moreira, Ana Maria dos Santos Malhó, Maria Isabel de Magalhães Ribeiro, Pedro Manuel Franco Ribeiro
Products	Rail Transport (Passenger)
Revenue	€ 288.559 million (2018)[2]
Operating income	€ -36.9 million (2018)[2]
Net income	€ -105.6 million (2018)[2]
Owner	Government of Portugal (100%)
Number of employees	2,658 (2018)[2]
Website	www.cp.pt

Comboios de Portugal

Map showing the railway lines in Portugal operated by CP in 2023.
CP Alfa Pendular train in 2020.
Technical
Track gauge	1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Iberian gauge and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge

CP — Comboios de Portugal, EPE (European Portuguese: [kõˈbɔjuʒ ðɨ puɾtuˈɣal]; CP; English: Trains of Portugal) is a state-owned company which operates passenger trains in Portugal. Prior to June 2009, CP stood for Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (English: Portuguese Railways) although the company has been using its current designation as a brand name since 2004.

CP can trace its origins back to October 1856 and the opening of the first railway line in Portugal; the majority of the network has long comprised Iberian gauge lines, compatible with neighboring Spain. During the 1950s, the Portuguese railway network spanned roughly 3,750 km (2,330 mi), its greatest extent. In 1975, the Portuguese Railway Company was nationalised. Amid a decline in passenger numbers, various lines were shut down, with almost a quarter of the rail network being closed by the twenty-first century.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1990s, various efforts to restructure and improve CP services have been initiated. During 1999, CP introduced its new flagship service, the Alfa Pendular, which operates between Braga - Porto - Lisbon - Faro using tilting trains. Since 2005, management of the railway infrastructure has been split from CP, which instead focuses on train services, while the former role is now performed by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP). Also, CP's cargo activities were transferred to private company MSC who operate them under the Medway label; leaving CP to only operate passenger trains. In 2015, a new long-term strategy for Portugal's railway network has been underway, under which full electrification of the network, the provision of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), and the general modernisation and improvement of trunk routes and international services is being conducted. Throughout early 2023, CP's operations have been repeatedly disrupted by industrial action.