Punctuality and regularity of train services deteriorated between 2019 and 2022.

According to the Office of Mobility and Transport (AMT), train punctuality and regularity deteriorated between 2019 and 2022 on “virtually all routes”, with the number of trains running in 2022 remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

According to the National Rail Market Development Report of the European Union’s Common Rail Area 2020-2022, “in terms of punctuality, there was a deterioration in almost all services between 2019 and 2022, despite temporary improvements in 2020 and 2021.”

“In urban/suburban services in Lisbon, Fertagus continues to provide higher punctuality rates than CP-Lisbon services, with an IP3 rating. [Índice de Pontualidade de três minutos] 93% in 2022 (compared to 86% in KP),” says the document published on the AMT website.

In turn, long-distance services “were rated as having the worst punctuality scores.”

The findings of the report published this Monday by the journal Jornal de Notícias also note that during the period analyzed there was a “deterioration in the regularity of all services compared to 2019,” especially regarding the number of removals and the regularity indicator.

According to AMT, the DP identified as “the main factors negatively affecting regularity and punctuality”, mainly in 2021 and 2022, the interventions that have been made in the infrastructure and which involve the introduction of speed limits, especially on the Northern Line and on the Minho Line.

The railway operator also cited damage to rolling stock, strikes by CP and IP-Infraestruturas de Portugal workers and several adverse weather events that led to the suspension of train services in December 2022.

Fertagus highlighted the main reasons for the interruption of services or delays of trains, with the greatest consequences in 2022 being strikes by IP workers, work interruptions caused by infrastructure restrictions, as well as situations of sudden or prolonged illness among its employees.

Regarding complaints received by the AMT against railway operators, their number increased from 5244 in 2019 to 3324 in 2020 and 2478 in 2021 (reflecting a decrease in activity during the pandemic), and in 2022 (the year in which they were allocated 92% to CP and 8% to Fertagus).

Problems related to non-compliance or inadequate compliance are the most significant, accounting for 33% of the total, with particular emphasis on non-compliance with schedules (20% of complaints in the sector) and service cancellations (7%).

In second place is the topic related to prices, payments and ticket offices (28%), covering situations of dissatisfaction with transport tickets (10%), problems at ticket offices and ticket machines (9%) and requests for refunds (8%).

Speaking to Lusa, the AMT president partly attributed the increase in complaints to the “much greater ease” of filing them through the electronic platform available at the time.

Ana Paulo Vitorino, however, stated that “in fact there has been more interference in the operation and regularity of railway transport, with service interruptions, cancellation of timetables or unexpected stops in the middle of journeys”: “There is something for every taste, unfortunately,” said He.

For the president of the regulator, these are “growing pains” associated with a significant increase in work to expand and/or improve the railway infrastructure, which implies a “great intervention” in service, while strengthening alternative transport is not provided. enough to offset the impact on passengers.

“The buses that are provided also have problems because there are works on the road network in Lisbon and Porto, in both cases due to the work of the metro, and therefore, if there is an offer, there is no offer that satisfies the people . “, admits Ana Paula Vitorino, suggesting that “it is expected that the deadlines set for the preparation of the work will be respected and that after their completion, not only will there be no more of these closures, but the service will be better and with a greater offer” .

At the same time, AMP’s president pointed to a “significant increase in the number of strikes affecting rail services” as the cause of some of the unrest, noting that it was “not a matter of regulatory intervention, either by the political authorities or the chambers.” , being “an exogenous variable with respect to transport, even if it has consequences for the system.”

“We cannot and should not comment on strikes, this is the constitutional right of the people,” he said, adding: “There may be some intervention at the level of the Ministry of Labor, but it is beyond our scope.”