The Corgo line ''(Linha do Corgo)'' was a railway line in northern

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 th ...

. It closed in 2009. It ran north from Régua (a junction station on the main

Douro railway line Linha do Douro is a railway in northern Portugal. For much of its route the line runs close to the Douro River, offering very scenic views of the river and valley. Trains on the line are operated by Comboios de Portugal (CP). Constructio ...

running along the

Douro Valley The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Douro () is an administrative division in Portugal. It replaced the ''Comunidade Urbana do Douro'', created in 2004. It takes its name from the Douro River. The seat of the intermunicipal community is Vila Real. D ...

) to

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...

and Chaves. The line was latterly operated by

Comboios de Portugal CP — Comboios de Portugal, EPE (''CP''; English: ''Trains of Portugal'') is a state-owned company which operates passenger trains in Portugal. Before June 2009, CP stood for Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (English: ''Portuguese Railways'') ...

Early years

The section from Régua (also known as Peso da Régua) to Vila Real was opened in 1906. The extension to Chaves was built in stages, but not completed until 1921. The distance from Regua to Chaves was 97 kilometres. The first short section of track north from Regua was dual gauged (including a large metal girder bridge over the Corgo River), shared with the main

Iberian gauge Iberian gauge ( es, ancho ibérico, trocha ibérica, pt, bitola ibérica) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. This is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The Indian gauge, ...

. In its early years the line was operated by the CF do Estado (State Railways). Following privatisation of the CF do Estado in 1928, the line came under the Companhia Nacional (CN) until taken over by the CP in 1947. CP introduced economy measures, such as diesel railcars and eventually diesel locomotives in place of steam traction (notably a small fleet of

Mallet locomotives The Mallet locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive, articulated steam railway locomotive, invented by the Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet (1837–1919). The front of the locomotive articulated on a bogie. The Compound steam engine, compo ...

built by

Henschel Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting v ...

Final years and closure

The Corgo line was steam operated until the 1970s, with steam shunting engines continuing in limited use until the 1980s. The introduction of the Série 9000 and later the Série 9020 diesel locomotives replaced steam working on the line. In 1982 the line featured in an episode of the BBC television series

Great Little Railways ''Great Railway Journeys'', originally titled ''Great Railway Journeys of the World'', is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figur ...

. Due to road improvements and falling passenger numbers, the northern section of the line between Vila Real and Chaves was closed in 1990. On 25 March 2009 the remaining service on the line (between Regua and Vila Real) was suspended due to the condition of the track. Repairs were promised and the line was expected to reopen by 2011. In practice, due to budgetary constraints, the repairs have not been forthcoming and the replacement bus service was itself withdrawn with effect from 1 January 2012.Comboios de Portugal
CP press release confirming the closure of the line
/ref> The tracks were lifted from Vila Real station by 2011.

Other narrow gauge railways in the Douro Valley

Sabor line The Sabor line ''(Linha do Sabor)'' was a railway in north-east Portugal. It ran for nearly 106 km between Pocinho and Duas Igrejas, near Miranda do Douro. It closed in 1988. History The Sabor line served a very rural part of the country, follo ...

- closed 1988 *

Tâmega line The Tâmega line ''(Linha do Tâmega)'' was a 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 junct ...

- closed 2009 *

Tua line The Tua line was a metre gauge railway line in northern Portugal, which connected Tua to Bragança. The line was opened in 1887 and closed in 2018. The section from Mirandela to Brunheda is planned to be reopened in 2019. History This hig ...

- closed 2018

References

Railway lines in Portugal Metre gauge railways in Portugal Railway lines closed in 2009 Railway lines opened in 1906 1906 establishments in Portugal {{Portugal-transport-stub

Early years

Final years and closure

Other narrow gauge railways in the Douro Valley

See also

References