Thread by @richardavsmith

I'm heading to Portugal, for the first time travelling there from London without flying.

It's Day 5, and it's time for a new operator on this #SouthernRailways trip: CP (Comboios de Portugal), the national railway company of Portugal.

You can find the other days of my trip here:

https://twitter.com/richardavsmith/status/1514643290024521735?t=EUP1ZHzd7oZ3Gml2DWpaAg&s=19

After picking up my free (but pointless?) reservation for the CP Internacional train to Porto, I had just under an hour to wander in Vigo.

Maritime terminal; I think cruise ships still use it.

A Galician contribution to @RateMyBuffers

Views down the Vigo Estuary out into the Atlantic.

Harbour.

The pleasant centre.

I suspect there was a lot more to the centre, but it was a challenge to see it in the time available.

Time for CP International 420 Vigo-Guixar to Porto-Campanhã

This train runs 2x a day: this train, at 08:58, and a later train, at 19:56. Only this train gets you into Porto with enough time to continue

Remember my train y'day arrived at 23:16. These links aren't thought through

Passing the port on the way out of Vigo. It's not the quietest train! (Currently a short but key part of the route across the border is not electrified, I believe.)

Gorgeous views down the estuary.

Route maps.

Across the River Minho, which marks the Spanish 🇪🇸 - Portuguese 🇵🇹 border.

(@jonworth, watching this back, it looks like there's catenary right up to and over the border, so I assume the voltage issue is the reason these diesel units are used right now.)

Valença, first stop in Portugal.

This signage feels very Rail Alphabet 2! (@_doublearrow @GarethDennis)

Apart from the electrification and the cedilla, I could be on Northern!

I like the look of Portuguese units; always a fan of yellow ends.

The beautiful Atlantic Coast.

We had a prolonged stop at Viana do Castelo; yet it was only as I read the passage in @EuropeByRail about it making a good stop and checked train times that the doors closed. D'oh!

Across the Ponte Eiffel (yes, again, that Eiffel) over the Lima River. It carries both rails and a road stacked atop.

My train was a bit delayed so I thought a quick side excursion to Braga wasn't an option (the next train was a while off and required a fee), but they held the suburban train for us!

(Oh what a joy, boarding a train without having to reserve!)

Here's the train I arrived on departing. These should really be more frequent, and ideally electric; it's daft how weak cross border links can be in Europe.

(@jonworth is worth a follow on this, he's going to be embarking on a trip to cross every EU border by train soon!)

w i d e b o i

Network map. Porto has quite an extensive suburban network.

In Portugal, you only have to reserve on Alfa Pendular and Intercidades trains with InterRail.

It's not perfect, but it's a relief after Spain.

Braga.

@RateMyBuffers, you know what to do.

(Braga, Portugal, on my ongoing #SouthernRailways trip.)

Booking.com if all hotels had to be honest.

Reservation bought for my train later. It was very straightforward, but wish it were on proper ticket stock.

The station building is very distinctive, especially with the globe on top. I'm not sure what to think of it, but it's unusual for sure!

Cursed vibes

The Arco de Porta Nova, marking the entry to the old city of Braga.

The pretty centre.

Sé de Brega

I know this is meant to be holy and reverant, but something about the design of these unfortunately makes it instead a bit comic. (I think it's the expressions.)

Central courtyard fountain

Stunning interior of the cathedral.

Red post box!

Fountain. (It's another gorgeous day.)

This is like but not exactly the same as a UK phone box.

I don't think I've ever seen such a floral city, from these beds near the cathedral...

To these fat cacti.

To these beds running all the way up one of the main shopping areas.

Just a gorgeous city.

Time to board my train, an Alfa Pendular from Barga all the way to Lisbon; I'm just going to Porto.

The train is a tilting Series 4000 Pendolino, much like the Class 390 Pendolinos operating on UK's West Coast Main Line, albeit marginally older and wider. (Same smaller windows, though!)

Only ten were built (1 then scrapped), so the fleet winds up being stretched rather thin.

Here you can see the tilting at work.

Tilting does what cant can't.

Heritage stock and Renfe coaches in the yard.

Porto-Campanhã, complete with very BR signage. (Including the shade of teal used for other languages.)

But I think it's just Arial.

River valley views on the short hop to Porto-Sao Bento station, in the centre.

Sao Bento station.

Grand murals in the ticket hall.

I'm sure those warning stripes will stop a train. @RateMyBuffers

Cathedral adopt a hill overlooking the valley at the heart of the city.

The Luís I Bridge, a double deck bridge with a low level and high level deck (pictured).

The high level is shared between trams and pedestrians, with a series of bollards separating them flexibly in a way that railings couldn't.

Stunning views from the high level, especially on a glorious day like this. The water is so blue.

Former monastery on a hill.

A cable car runs down to the river bank. (I didn't check this time, but last time I think it was quite expensive.)

Pretty boats (some with port barrels onboard) bobbing in the river.

Nice, if a bit touristy embankment.

I took a boat across to the north bank.

And then hurried up the hill to catch a train south.

I'd been planning to take another AP, but the ticket office said all the AP/IC trains were full until 17:30 (though there's a gap in service so that's not that many trains!).

Scuppered some plans.

#BanCompulsoryReservation

I booked the 17:30, but still want to see some other places first.

So it's time for a very full commuter train instead.

A lot of people had suitcases, which suggests quite a few people couldn't get the train.

I hope CP orders more trains next time renewal is needed.

We waited past our departure time at Porto-Campanhã to ensure a connection from a longer distance train.

This is good, but mostly driven by the relatively poor frequencies. I have also found real time information on CP is basically absent, unless I'm missing something online.

We reversed and crossed over the River Douruo.

The bridge you can see isn't the one I showed you earlier; it's actually an old railway bridge.

Views of the sea between houses.

We crawled for a while; probably due to works but possibly because we were following something. (Unlikely as we were an all stations train.)

The works appear to be for adding extra tracks/platforms, hopefully to enhance the service.

Views of the Atlantic on our way south.

Beautiful painted tiles at Ovar station.

Almost everyone onboard alighted at the terminus of this Suburban train, Aveiro.

I'm wondering if the frequency is affected by the works. (It's currently only twin track, shared with long distance trains)?

Beautiful old station building and smart new building.

Vending machine shop. As in, a shop full of vending machines, not a vending machine vendor.

Even in the best of circumstances I wasn't going to have much time in Aveiro, but with the delay I only had time to walk to the nearest bit of canal in the 'Venice of Portugal' and take this photo.

So... extrapolate what the place is like from this, I guess.

There was also this nice art deco building.

I'm regretting my side trip to Barga a bit as it ate up more time than I'd hoped (it was pretty though), but I suspect I'd just have hit the same issues later otherwise.

Time for a Regional Express onwards to Coimbra.

With this roof design present at many stations, I bet this line/stations was refurbished in the 80s/90s at the same time as various Network SouthEast stations and the NS line via Almere.

Coimbra-B (I believe B stands for Bifurcação = Junction).

My train dwelled here for long enough that I could have a wander, and discover that the whole station relies on a flat crossing to access every platform (w lights).

Between it and the steel cars, it felt almost American.

Coimbra station, in the centre of town. It's aging gracefully.

Don't worry, if the buffers don't stop the train, that hosepipe must be at least a bit elastic?

Hmm, you're right, that might not work, let's put down a block of wood too.

Okay fine, let's cover our bases, can't be too safe etc.

Put a rock on it.

@RateMyBuffers

Views of the River Mondego, which runs through Coimbra.

I only had maybe 25-30 minutes here, so yet again today it was time for speed tourism. (I do this a lot!)

Body horror statue.

University atop a very steep hill.

Views of the city.

A really pleasant and labyrinthine old city on a hill.

Multi coloured post boxes!

Back to Coimbra-B.

Coimbra-B is definitely a 'non-standard' station, even ignoring the level crossing. The main platform gets very narrow to fit around some disused sheds shoved between two running lines.

And then, of course, there's all the level crossing weirdness.

This is fine.gif

Here's my train: an Intercidades (InterCity), with a loco pulling Corail coaches. These seem to run 5-20 minutes after an AP and take (currently, including engineering work impacts) 15 minutes longer (with older, but still comfy stock; and more stops).

Unmistakably Corail.

A smooth and gently scenic journey south.

Entroncamento, complete with railway museum. (Sadly was closed today, otherwise I would have gone!)

Lots of old and disused stock and facilities.

Will have to come back here some day; even putting the museum aside there's a fascinating quantity of railway stuff around.

Lisbon Oriente station; a grand roof designed by Calatrava, and so it's inevitably a high wavy thing that acts as a wind trap.

Will try and pop by here during my time in Lisbon.

Lisbon Santa Apolonia station, end of the line. Its grandeur is hidden behind scaffolding, but it's still an exciting place to be, and really 'felt' like the kind of place InterRail trips are made of.

Oh, and they still practice the 'shunter release' method of working with coaches here!

Leaving this loco behind to depart light engine.

Time to grab food and go to my hotel.

First, the metro.

The first thing I encounter on leaving the metro in Lisbon: people outside a bar dancing to La Bamba.

(Bit on the nose, don't you think?)

And then a tram goes by.

I'd better get my boat before I encounter any more clichés.

I've got a whole day in Lisbon tomorrow, and so I'm probably going to tweet a lot less, possibly just a couple highlights.

It's tough to tweet when exploring a city, and it's good not to burn out too much as there's a risk of getting distracted from enjoying the experience.

So for now, from Lisbon, I bid you a boa noite!

(Thanks to everyone who followed me today, I seem to have picked up most transport/travel fans in Portugal!)

#SouthernRailways

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Next day:

https://twitter.com/richardavsmith/status/1516557053648584708?t=QbBUxU66Zu04EQUTQ0Ek5Q&s=19