Linha do Algarve is a railway line in the region of

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, in southern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, which connects the stations of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

to the west and

Vila Real de Santo António Vila Real de Santo António (, often run together as ) is a city, civil parish, and municipality in the Algarve, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,156, in an area of 61.25 km2. It is one of the few municipalities in Portugal without ter ...

to the east of the Portuguese region.

Geography

The line runs east to

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

along the

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

municipalities of the Algarve, except for part of

Lagos municipality Lagos (; literally "lakes"; cel-x-proto, Lacobriga) is a city and municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 201 ...

and all of

Vila do Bispo municipality Vila do Bispo () is a municipality (''concelho'') in the Portuguese Algarve. It has 5,717 inhabitants in an area of 179.06 km2. History The first references to this region referred to the ''Aldeia do Bispo'' in the 14th century, in a char ...

which doesn't have railway. The main stations are

, Tavira, Olhão, Faro,

Albufeira Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 2021 ...

Tunes Tunes may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Tunes (Silves), a parish in Portugal * Tunes, Norway, a village in Norway * Tunes, Tunisia, now Tunis, eponymous capital city of Tunisia ** Tunes (see), a suppressed Latin Catholic titular bishopri ...

Silves Silves may refer to : Europe * Silves, Portugal, municipality and former bishopric in Algarve, southern Portugal ** Silves (parish), a civil parish in the municipality of Silves ** Castle of Silves, a medieval castle in civil parish of Silves ...

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

and

. Other stations include

Fuseta Fuseta () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Olhão, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Moncarapacho e Fuseta. The parish occupies an area of approximately and at the 2001 census had a population of 2,146. This p ...

, Bom João (Faro),

Almancil Almancil () is a town and ''Freguesia (Portugal), freguesia'' in the Loulé Municipality, in the affluent Golden Triangle (Algarve), Golden Triangle region of the Algarve of southern Portugal. Almancil is known for its three List of Michelin starr ...

Algoz Algoz () is a town and the seat of the civil parish of Algoz e Tunes in the municipality of Silves, in Algarve, Portugal. It has about 3000 inhabitants. History According to some theories, the name of the town has its origins in the Arabic wor ...

and

Estômbar Estômbar is a town in the civil parish of Estômbar e Parchal, in the municipality (''concelho'') of Lagoa, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,985, in an area of 24.21 km². It is situated just west of the city of Lagoa itself. Its civi ...

Operation

Passengers and cargo

Regional 5913, Estação de Albufeira, 2011

All passenger services are run by the national railway operator Comboios de Portugal. Cargo services are operated by

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...

. 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 service Messines-Alte, Tunes, Albufeira, Loulé, and Faro. The track from

to Vila Real de Santo António - Guadiana, which linked the line to the ferries to Ayamonte, in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, is closed.

History

In 1858, the expansion of the Linha do Sul, today Linha do Alentejo, from Beja to

was planned; in 1864, the contract between Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro de Sul e Sueste and the Portuguese state was signed. The connection to Faro was completed on 21 February 1889, but only opened on 1 July of the same year. The railway reached Olhão on 28 March 1904 (although the station was only opened on 15 May of that yearMarques, 1999:391), Fuseta railway station on 1 September,

Luz Luz ( ''Lūz'') is the name of two places in the Bible. Mentioned in Genesis Luz is the ancient name of a royal Canaanite city, connected with Bethel (Genesis 28:19; 35:6). It is debated among scholarsRashi on 28:17 whether Luz and Bethel repres ...

on 31 January 1905, Tavira on 19 March, and Vila Real de Santo António on 14 April 1906. Towards Lagos, the stations of

Ferragudo Ferragudo is a Portuguese civil parish at the western border of the municipality of Lagoa. The population in 2011 was 1,973, in an area of 5.41 km². Ferragudo serves mainly as a bedroom community for its much larger neighbour, the city of Po ...

and

were opened on 10 October 1889, 15 February 1903 and 30 July 1922.Coutinho, 2008:81 The Vila Real de Santo António – Guadiana station was opened in the 1940s.

References

Bibliography