The Sintra line

Opened on 2 April 1887.

Dating back to 16 September 1855, the day King Pedro V celebrated his 18th birthday, construction of a railway line was inaugurated, linking Lisbon with the picturesque palace in Sintra whilst also serving the royal residence at Queluz. The Sintra Line began at Alcântara-Terra and was approved as part of the Lisbon-Torres line, becoming a reality on 2 April 1887.

Given the relative remoteness of the Alcântara and Santa Apolónia stations from the economic centre, the Royal Company promoted the construction of the tunnel and Rossio station, realising the idea of the capital having its own “Central Station”. Here, international trains, notably the legendary Sud Express, and long-distance services, including those from Porto, were transferred to via the Lisbon Ring Line, which connected all lines terminating in Lisbon: Cascais, Sul, Sintra/Oeste, Alentejo and North.

In 1905, the Royal Company conducted trials on the line with the Purrey steam railcars it had acquired in Bordeaux. A venue frequented by eminent figures from public, artistic and political life, Rossio station was the scene of one of the most tragic moments in our history with the assassination, in 1918, of President Sidónio Pais.

But it was also on this line that, 10 years later and continuing until the end of the 20th century, the interesting “Floral Station Competitions” began, aimed at improving the quality of service as perceived by customers.

As part of the First Development Plan, and following the completion of the track doubling in 1949, which would allow for new and improved timetables, and just a few months earlier, had seen the introduction of the panoramic Schindler carriages, suitable for urban service.

This was 70 years after the arrival of the first train in Sintra, and alongside the first section of the Northern Line, the line was electrified on 28 April 1957, during a ceremony forming part of the centenary celebrations of the railways in Portugal, featuring the 2000 series triple electric railcars (UTE), built by Sorefame under licence from the Groupement d’Étude et d’Électrification des Chemins de Fer en Monophasé 50 Hz, the consortium responsible for the works.

This marked the end of steam locomotive operations.

Although it continued to receive trains from the Oeste line, Rossio station, with its purely suburban role, lost its status as the central departure and arrival point for long-distance and international trains to Santa Apolónia.

The rapid, problematic and challenging urban growth in the towns along the line necessitated its modernisation in the 1990s, with the introduction of the automatic speed control system (March 1993), the quadrupling of the track (begun in late 1993 and completed, between Monte Abraão and Agualva-Cacém, in September 2012) and new rolling stock, the UQE 2300s, which entered service in November 1992.
In 1996, Rossio station, which serves around 15 million passengers a year, gained a direct connection to the Lisbon Metro at Restauradores station.

Stretching 27.2 km, the line forms part of the ‘Greater Lisbon’ urban transport system. It contributes to the mobility potential provided by the rail link between the two banks of the River Tagus (North-South Rail Axis), the capital’s metro, bus and river transport networks, with trains running directly to Alverca, as well as a significant proportion of CP’s regional and long-distance services.