Good news for train users. Portugal, after Germany, offers a monthly subscription of 49 euros to travel anywhere in the country as desired. The National Train Card, available since August 1, is not just for Portuguese. All Europeans, including tourists, can benefit from it Le Figaro. We learn that the pass “allows passengers to travel on any regional service train on any route.” Schengen Area Information Portal.
However, certain lines are not included in the subscription: Régua-Pocinho (Douro line), Coimbra-Figueira da Foz (Coimbra outskirts), Pinhal Novo-Evora, Pinhal Novo-Vila Nova de Baronia (Alentejo line), but also Pinhal Novo Towns (Southern Line). To obtain a national train ticket, each traveler must have a Comboios de Portugal Card (CP, the country's railway company), which costs 6 euros. The latter can be ordered directly from the station ticket offices.
Good for the environment and interregional links
To do this, you must provide the following documents: an official identity document (citizen card, ID card, driver's license or passport), a color ID photo, and an application for a CP card. “Authorities in European countries have intensified their efforts to improve environmentally friendly means of transport, such as rail transport, and to strengthen connections between European regions, cities and countries for national and international travel,” explains the information portal.
Last May, Germany began offering its own monthly subscription, also priced at 49 euros. With a wider offer than that of Portugal, including regional trains and also other public transport such as metro or buses, the system has already won the admiration of many users. In France, the government is also working on a similar offer. This would concern all regional trains and could be launched in the summer of 2024.
