In an open letter, politician Mendes Bota has brought much needed attention to the state of the Algarve’s railway line, describing the region’s CP trains and stations as something from the “third world”.
The letter, sent to the Ministry of Economy, includes a detailed description of the run-down transportation facilities and various questions about the Algarve railway’s future.
The Algarve PSD MP asks if the government is aware of the situation and, if so, what plans they have to modernise and update the “unacceptable” carriages and ticket offices in the next three years.
He also challenges those in charge to take a closer look at the Algarve train line and for them to be honest about what they think of it.
 Algarve PSD MP Mendes Bota wants to know the government’s opinion about the region’s railway line |
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“This cannot be stressed enough; the situation of the railway stations and stops in the Algarve are shameful for the region as a whole. It feels like being in the third world,” Bota states.
Among the problems, Bota brings focus to the out-of-order toilets on board trains, the amount of litter left on trains and around stations, poor accessibility for disabled people and difficult access to the stations themselves.
He said: “The stations in the Algarve have no conditions to operate well and, without conditions, there is no credibility. Without credibility, you lose customers and without customers we run the risk of losing an entire economic matrix which for decades has promoted the region and was built to strengthen the Algarve, not to weaken it.” Acknowledging the importance of the railway system and keeping people across the Algarve connected, Bota also showed empathy for the financial situation of the country and admitted that finding a fundable project to upgrade the rail line would be difficult in the current economic climate.
“Unfortunately, the financial situation that has led to a shortage of funds across the country does not bode well for any packages of investment in public transport. Significant investment is required to be able to reverse the situation of decline within the public transport sector in the Algarve,” he concludes.
The Algarve railway system runs from Vila Real de Santo António to Lagos.
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