CP workshops in Guifões restore 50 carriages in five years

Today, 15 January, is the 5th anniversary of CP - Comboios de Portugal reopening its Guifões workshops. Fifty carriages have been restored in the workshop complex since 2020.

Putting this rolling stock back into service has boosted the supply of trains and meets the growing demand from passengers for sustainable travel.

‘The reopening of the Guifões workshop at a time of great difficulty, when there were fewer services, less rolling stock and less activity, had a special significance and gave CP the capacity to grow again. The results are there to see and make us all proud,’ said the CP's Chairman, Pedro Moreira, praising the achievements of the workers over the last few years. ‘With the rolling stock that has been recovered, not only in Guifões, but also in the workshops in Contumil, Entroncamento and Barreiro, we have been able to increase passenger transport capacity and provide a better service to our customers. Without this investment in restoring, modernising and putting rolling stock that was inoperable back into service, we wouldn't have been able to meet the huge increase in demand that has taken place over the last five years,’ he said, pointing out that the figures show an ever-increasing take-up of rail transport in Portugal: provisional figures for 2024 point to more than 185 million passengers being transported, 12.8 million more than in the previous year.

The investment to refurbish and re-equip the Guifões workshops was around €2.5 million and, over the last five years, this space has become fundamental to CP's activity. 79 jobs were created. In all, 13 Schindler carriages have been restored, which run regular services on the Douro Line (and special services on the Beira Baixa Line); 14 Sorefame carriages, which also run regular services on the Douro Line; and 23 Arco carriages, which ensure inter-regional services on the Minho Line and run between Valença and Figueira da Foz, among other rolling stock. This workshop also carries out general overhauls on various types of railcars and many other one-off interventions.

It should be remembered that CP has increasingly sought to become a leader in internal mobility and a market leader in passenger transport, contributing to territorial cohesion and the country's economic, social and environmental sustainability. The strategy adopted included the reopening of workshops that had been closed for several years and the recovery and return to service of fixed rolling stock, from railcars to locomotives and carriages, which gave the company the capacity to respond to the large increase in passengers in recent years.

In 2018, CP carried 126.2 million passengers and is forecast to close 2024 with 185 million passengers carried, which represents an increase of more than 46% in just six years. This growth reflects people's growing confidence in CP's services and recognises the efficiency of the railway as a sustainable means of transport.

The company's employees have been essential to achieving these good results, emphasises Pedro Moreira. ‘It is thanks to the commitment, dedication and professionalism of our workers, in all areas of the company, that Comboios de Portugal continues to grow and offer an ever higher quality service to all the Portuguese,’ the Chairman of CP added.