Off the rails or on track? Portugal to offer €20 monthly train pass

State operator Comboios de Portugal (CP) says it is to launch a cut-price €20 monthly ticket for almost the entire national railway system before the close of the year.

The new "investment in the environment" pass will come with limits, however, according to a recent Portuguese government statement.

These include mandatory reservations at least 24 hours in advance for inter-city trips and a limit of 2 reservations or trips per person per day.

The pass will not be valid on high-speed Alfa Pendular trains or on the metro or light rail systems, according to plans seen this month by Lusa, Portugal’s state news agency.

Lisbon said the pass would encourage more people to leave their cars at home and could help reduce pollution. The scheme could also help Portugal attract tourists keen to travel widely around the country.

The pace-setting new pass was first flagged in August and will replace the €49 a month version brought in last year. The price mirrored similar offerings elsewhere, including in Germany, where it was recently announced the price would be raised to €58, almost 3 times as expensive as the updated Portuguese version.

Critics, including national trade unions, have warned that the Portuguese scheme could be a drain on public finances - similar to the justifications given in Germany for the recently announced price hike and in turn prompting concerns that the passes might more generally be deemed financially unsustainable.

Europe has seen something of a revival of rail travel in recent years, with operators and regulators not only announcing all-in monthly passes, but several new or expanded sleeper or overnight long-distance routes across the continent.