@@NonstopEurotrip Dude, I'll give a chance to this channel to be the second travelling channel I'm subscribed right now. If I like it, I'll be subscribed permanently.
Something tells me CP will not get rid of these services any time soon… They recently reopened a gigantic maintenance depot in Guifões, near Porto, where they are now in the process of refurbishing the also Corail-based Arco coaches they just bought from their Spanish neighbour Renfe, and are also performing deep maintenance works on the previously withdrawn Series 2600/2620 “Nez Cassé” electric locomotives (those can only reach 160 kmh/100 mph, but will come in handy on many recently electrified lines, which means the 5600s will still be available for use on the faster lines).
That's great news. Much as I admire RENFE/Adifs investment and ultra-modern sleek services, it often comes at the expense of regional services on the old Iberian gauge routes that just get neglected. Portugal seems to be treading a bit more carefully and is being a bit more balanced about improving intercity travel but maintaining connectivity for small towns as well. Plus, the Corails just look so damn cool
Thanks for great video - the staion facade in Porto is really beautiful and good to know where the railway museum is located. I think the blue and green interior is bright and breezy and lifts the look of this older rolling stock. In terms of cities close together, here is Australia we have Albury and Wodonga - which sit on oppsite banks of the Murray River and are both on the main Sydney - Melbourne rail line. A more spectacular pair is Narva in Estonia and Ivangorod in Russia - each with a medieval castle on opposite banks of a river. The Tallinn to St Petersburg rail line runs through here.
There is going to be a high speed rail line between Lisbon, Porto, Braga and Valença, which is going to reduce in more than half the current travel time between Porto and Lisbon. It is set to be in operation in 2030, and the constructions may actually start in 2022.
@@nacht98 well there is some indefinition on whether the Alfa Pendular Pendolinos will be used in the new line and be upgraded for higher speeds or that we will have new high speed trains. Probably it will be the end for Alfa Pendular, not the end for the Pendolinos, as the high speed trains will serve the same stations as the Alfa Pendular service
Apart from that there will always be regions not served by the high speed railway, for example Viana do Castelo, Régua, Guarda, Covilhã, Sintra... Maybe the Alfa Pendular service will be reinforced there.
Great and fair review. Indeed Intercidades services are fantastic value for money, and if you book early you can get 2nd class Porto-Lisbon tickets as low as 5€, which is a total steal. These carriages are indeed showing their age, which is why they're currently working on a modernization prototype for these and the "Sorefame" coaches which look similar. Unfortunately I think with modernization they'll loose the "jazzy" look of the interior opting for a more subtle interior color scheme, similar to the Alfa Pendular with its grey seats and grey panelling with just a few dashes of color (namely green). Small correction: the driving trailers that CP is looking to use is actually planned to be constructed from existing rolling stock, as opposed to purchasing from abroad, simply due to the cost of refitting bogies and electrical equipment to the Portuguese railway standards.
Thank you for this trip report. I think that Corail coaches are renown for their comfort both in France and in Portugal. Let’s hope that the track replacement works are done so that time travel between Porto and Lisbon can be reduced to what they used to be. Well done.
Unfortunately I don't think we will see a big improvement on this line in travel time, there are studies to built a high-speed line between the 2 cities and that wouldn't make much sense.
@@jorgestravels even when the high speed line goes into service, which still won't be for another 8 to 10 years at least, the "classic" Northern line will still be used for the slower stopping Regional services and the freight trains.
@@sergiofreitas9368 Yeah, I know but the investment won’t be there. They’ll maintain the line, but not improve it. The intercidades will always take at least 3 hours from Lisbon to Porto by that conventional line.
That was a beautiful trip! I absolutely enjoyed it! I know two cities which are also located on two banks of a river. They are Kolkata and Howrah in India, located on the East and West Banks of the River Hoogli, respectively. It is pretty cool when you cross the river then you are in another city, and the postcode changes too!
My hometown and where I live (Bogotá) is close to another city (Soacha) they are so close that you can go from Bogotá to Soacha and vice versa, just by crossing the street.
@@SuperalbsTravels it is, there are streets that in one side the directions are from Bogota and in the other side the directions are from Soacha, the most confusing this is that, here in Colombia the streets are numbered and in Bogota the street have a number and in Soacha the same street have a tottaly different number
I *love* CPs passion for ribbed stainless steel coaches. It reminds me fondly of the TransPerth B series, and the NSW Endeavour/Explorer sets. It's quite rare in Europe, so certainly gives CP an exotic flair!
5:07 Something similar to the very close city situation (in my state, Nevada) is Reno and Sparks (which are right next to each other), and the Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson situation.
Regarding the door on 3:10, you had a handle above you that would manully release the door and nis used when there are a lot o people leaving the train avoiding that the door is permanently trying to close. Had you pulled it, younwould have been able to open the door manually
Thank you for a great video ! As you say, incredible value for money ! On the subject of Cities close to each other, how about Minneapolis/St.Paul in the U.S., and Salford and Manchester in the U.K ?
Other cities close to each other- Cave Creek and Carefree Arizona USA just a street separate them. Sadly though in most big cities there are always multiple small cities that make up the larger cities, separated by neighborhoods
5:11 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, despite being the most popolous suburban city in Spain with around 250k people, I guess, is different to the city of Barcelona, with 1.5M people 12:43 Right
Two cities not only close together but also in different countries, 2 examples....1. Detroit, Michigan USA & Windsor Ontario Canada and #2 El Paso Texas USA & Ciudad Juarez Mexico. Bothe example the two cities are separated by a bridge where the river forms the border.
The portuguese Intercidades ( intercity ) that are composed by Loco CP 5600 siemens is limited to 200 km/h because of the coaches are certified "only " for that speed.
Manchester and Salford are two cities that are even closer together ... and technically, London and Westminster are both cities (which means that the District Line 🟩 counts as an intercity route!)
Well, what a different Intercidades. I haven’t ridden one recently, so I hope that the other cars where the four seats do actually have a table are still in service. I am not a big fan of Lisbon commuter trains. They are very outdated. I always called these “latas velhas” (“old cans”).
13:32 That's not true, CP is not looking into receiving new types of Intercidades rolling stock in the next few years, don't worry ;) They bought over 50 passenger cars from Spain that will eventually join the Intercidades fleet after being fully refurbished, but they're still loco-hauled
@@diogorodrigues747 I'm 100% sure I'm not wrong, sorry 😅 That's the plan for the near future, but when there are enough refurbished Arcos they will join the IC fleet. And the actual IC fleet will also go through refurbishment in the future. The new trains from Stadler aren't supposed to go to IC so I don't know which trains are you mentioning.
@@AlexMalemaican Right. The ordered Stadler units will be used on regional service, as well as part of the 117 units already anounced. The other ones will be for suburban service in both Lisbon and Porto. There are plans to buy new long-distance units, but they will probably complement (or replace) the penolinos in the Alfa Service. So, the IC will be carried out with locomotive-hauled trains and refurbished coaches (ARCO, Corail and Sorefame) for a long time. No less than 10 years, in my perspective.
@@Mpl3564 CP can only buy new long-haul rolling stock whenever they finally work out the debt, because since it's a for-profit free market, CP cannot get government assistance to purchase new long haul trains (the Alfa replacement)
Nice trip, I also thought that those red fronted Commuter Units, were cute and with hints of the SNCF Astride Electric Locos Series 36000 and 43000, these were also used to haul the Thello Trains as they are Multi-System Locomotives, made in France of course.
The name of the company is CP, or if you want CP Comboios de Portugal, it is not Comboios de Portugal. And the train is Pendular, not Pendolino, this is not Italy.
![Riding the STUNNING Douro Valley railway line in Portugal! (Comboios de Portugal Review) [VOICEOVER]](/img/n.gif)
Amazing video my friend! Love Portugal 🇵🇹😍
Thanks so much! Have you been before? 🥰
@@SuperalbsTravels May, you?
That's crazy! I think I was there at that time too!
@@NonstopEurotrip Dude, I'll give a chance to this channel to be the second travelling channel I'm subscribed right now.
If I like it, I'll be subscribed permanently.
Nice train trip in Portugal despite the old coaches I really like the interior quite colourful and seems comfortable with the seats and the curtains
Thanks for watching, it was pleasant.
Something tells me CP will not get rid of these services any time soon… They recently reopened a gigantic maintenance depot in Guifões, near Porto, where they are now in the process of refurbishing the also Corail-based Arco coaches they just bought from their Spanish neighbour Renfe, and are also performing deep maintenance works on the previously withdrawn Series 2600/2620 “Nez Cassé” electric locomotives (those can only reach 160 kmh/100 mph, but will come in handy on many recently electrified lines, which means the 5600s will still be available for use on the faster lines).
That's great news. Much as I admire RENFE/Adifs investment and ultra-modern sleek services, it often comes at the expense of regional services on the old Iberian gauge routes that just get neglected. Portugal seems to be treading a bit more carefully and is being a bit more balanced about improving intercity travel but maintaining connectivity for small towns as well. Plus, the Corails just look so damn cool
Amazing video, train and service
Thanks very much!
I find the interior very attractive, and clean. The corrugated exterior is very reminiscent of passenger trains here in the USA
I thought it looked like Amtrak carriages!
@@SuperalbsTravels and many others had the same look after ww2. Part of postwar modernization.
Ronald Devine, the portuguese trains use that corrugated exterior, because these were built by Sorefame using Budd techniques under license
Thanks for great video - the staion facade in Porto is really beautiful and good to know where the railway museum is located. I think the blue and green interior is bright and breezy and lifts the look of this older rolling stock. In terms of cities close together, here is Australia we have Albury and Wodonga - which sit on oppsite banks of the Murray River and are both on the main Sydney - Melbourne rail line. A more spectacular pair is Narva in Estonia and Ivangorod in Russia - each with a medieval castle on opposite banks of a river. The Tallinn to St Petersburg rail line runs through here.
There is going to be a high speed rail line between Lisbon, Porto, Braga and Valença, which is going to reduce in more than half the current travel time between Porto and Lisbon. It is set to be in operation in 2030, and the constructions may actually start in 2022.
Sounds exciting!
A bit redundant to the Alfa Pendulino service?
@@nacht98 well there is some indefinition on whether the Alfa Pendular Pendolinos will be used in the new line and be upgraded for higher speeds or that we will have new high speed trains. Probably it will be the end for Alfa Pendular, not the end for the Pendolinos, as the high speed trains will serve the same stations as the Alfa Pendular service
Apart from that there will always be regions not served by the high speed railway, for example Viana do Castelo, Régua, Guarda, Covilhã, Sintra... Maybe the Alfa Pendular service will be reinforced there.
@@nacht98 Not redundant. It allows the Alfa Pendular trains to go top speed for longer periods.
Been to Porto and Lisbon via sailboat from LaRochelle, France. Awesome cities.
Wow, that sounds like a fun trip! They are great cities to visit. :)
Great and fair review. Indeed Intercidades services are fantastic value for money, and if you book early you can get 2nd class Porto-Lisbon tickets as low as 5€, which is a total steal. These carriages are indeed showing their age, which is why they're currently working on a modernization prototype for these and the "Sorefame" coaches which look similar.
Unfortunately I think with modernization they'll loose the "jazzy" look of the interior opting for a more subtle interior color scheme, similar to the Alfa Pendular with its grey seats and grey panelling with just a few dashes of color (namely green).
Small correction: the driving trailers that CP is looking to use is actually planned to be constructed from existing rolling stock, as opposed to purchasing from abroad, simply due to the cost of refitting bogies and electrical equipment to the Portuguese railway standards.
Thank you for this trip report. I think that Corail coaches are renown for their comfort both in France and in Portugal. Let’s hope that the track replacement works are done so that time travel between Porto and Lisbon can be reduced to what they used to be. Well done.
"...travel time..."
Haha, time travel would be even cooler! Thanks for watching.
Unfortunately I don't think we will see a big improvement on this line in travel time, there are studies to built a high-speed line between the 2 cities and that wouldn't make much sense.
@@jorgestravels even when the high speed line goes into service, which still won't be for another 8 to 10 years at least, the "classic" Northern line will still be used for the slower stopping Regional services and the freight trains.
@@sergiofreitas9368 Yeah, I know but the investment won’t be there. They’ll maintain the line, but not improve it. The intercidades will always take at least 3 hours from Lisbon to Porto by that conventional line.
That was a beautiful trip! I absolutely enjoyed it!
I know two cities which are also located on two banks of a river. They are Kolkata and Howrah in India, located on the East and West Banks of the River Hoogli, respectively. It is pretty cool when you cross the river then you are in another city, and the postcode changes too!
Ooh, that is cool! Thanks for sharing.
My hometown and where I live (Bogotá) is close to another city (Soacha) they are so close that you can go from Bogotá to Soacha and vice versa, just by crossing the street.
Wow! That must be confusing at times then haha.
@@SuperalbsTravels it is, there are streets that in one side the directions are from Bogota and in the other side the directions are from Soacha, the most confusing this is that, here in Colombia the streets are numbered and in Bogota the street have a number and in Soacha the same street have a tottaly different number
I *love* CPs passion for ribbed stainless steel coaches. It reminds me fondly of the TransPerth B series, and the NSW Endeavour/Explorer sets. It's quite rare in Europe, so certainly gives CP an exotic flair!
It is almost unique in Europe nowadays, except for a few privately owned sleeper carriages.
5:07
Something similar to the very close city situation (in my state, Nevada) is Reno and Sparks (which are right next to each other), and the Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson situation.
Interesting!
Which rail speed app do you use? It looks very impressive.
i lived in Oliveira de Azeméis for about a year, i think we even went to Espinho once with the Vouga we used to travel on it allot.
Been on exactly this train up to Entroncamento just a couple of weeks before :) //
Regarding the door on 3:10, you had a handle above you that would manully release the door and nis used when there are a lot o people leaving the train avoiding that the door is permanently trying to close. Had you pulled it, younwould have been able to open the door manually
Aha, thanks for the tip, I will remember that for next time!
Interesting trains. Portugal is a bit out on a limb, which is a pity. Getting there by train is somewhat of a marathon. Good video, well done.
Thanks, I agree it's a challenge, but one I'd be interested in trying out.
Thank you for a great video ! As you say, incredible value for money ! On the subject of Cities close to each other, how about Minneapolis/St.Paul in the U.S., and Salford and Manchester in the U.K ?
Nice report!
At 5:13, my answer to that is Manchester/Salford, they are stacked right next to each other!
Adjacent cities: Buda and Pest; Salford and Manchester
Good shout, even if that is historic!
Nice Train. I've Been To Portugal In 2019
Awesome! Did you use any of the trains?
No. I Didn't See Them We Were In Portimo By The Beach
@@miahaskurti4539 Oooh. Not heard of there.
@@SuperalbsTravels Did You See My YTP Of Jason Cook And The LNER Azuma?
Other cities close to each other- Cave Creek and Carefree Arizona USA just a street separate them. Sadly though in most big cities there are always multiple small cities that make up the larger cities, separated by neighborhoods
Great video, definitely need a trip over to Europe! What editor do you use for your videos?
He uses da vinci resolve.
5:11 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, despite being the most popolous suburban city in Spain with around 250k people, I guess, is different to the city of Barcelona, with 1.5M people
12:43 Right
Nice Video!
Thanks! :)
Two cities not only close together but also in different countries, 2 examples....1. Detroit, Michigan USA & Windsor Ontario Canada and #2 El Paso Texas USA & Ciudad Juarez Mexico. Bothe example the two cities are separated by a bridge where the river forms the border.
Ahaha, that's a good one. Bratislava and Wien are quite close, but but happen to be capitals!
The portuguese Intercidades ( intercity ) that are composed by Loco CP 5600 siemens is limited to 200 km/h because of the coaches are certified "only " for that speed.
Yeah! Still quite an impressive speed though. 👍
Manchester and Salford are two cities that are even closer together ... and technically, London and Westminster are both cities (which means that the District Line 🟩 counts as an intercity route!)
Good point, I forgot about those ones closest to home!
@@SuperalbsTravels How about Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Gateshead and never mind about Buda & Pest
that concrete roof in porto would look really striking of it was only fixed up
Yeah, it wasn't in the best state...
Does need a good power wash, I go there fairly often and yeah if they added more lighting and cleaned the roof, maybe it wouldn't look so drab.
Well, what a different Intercidades. I haven’t ridden one recently, so I hope that the other cars where the four seats do actually have a table are still in service.
I am not a big fan of Lisbon commuter trains. They are very outdated. I always called these “latas velhas” (“old cans”).
I saw some of the ones with a table, but these ones in the video seem to be more common. It depends on the route I think.
Love Portuguese train travel!
It's really fun and cheap! :)
Some videos better than others eh Mark 🤗
@@NonstopEurotrip Yes, this one is fantastic! 😉
13:32 That's not true, CP is not looking into receiving new types of Intercidades rolling stock in the next few years, don't worry ;) They bought over 50 passenger cars from Spain that will eventually join the Intercidades fleet after being fully refurbished, but they're still loco-hauled
You are wrong! The Arcos will only serve the Intercidades in the Minho line, because there are actually new IC arriving in the next decade...
@@diogorodrigues747 I'm 100% sure I'm not wrong, sorry 😅 That's the plan for the near future, but when there are enough refurbished Arcos they will join the IC fleet. And the actual IC fleet will also go through refurbishment in the future. The new trains from Stadler aren't supposed to go to IC so I don't know which trains are you mentioning.
@@diogorodrigues747 No, he isn't. The Minho line trains that will use ARCO coaches are Inter-regional, not IC.
@@AlexMalemaican Right. The ordered Stadler units will be used on regional service, as well as part of the 117 units already anounced. The other ones will be for suburban service in both Lisbon and Porto. There are plans to buy new long-distance units, but they will probably complement (or replace) the penolinos in the Alfa Service. So, the IC will be carried out with locomotive-hauled trains and refurbished coaches (ARCO, Corail and Sorefame) for a long time. No less than 10 years, in my perspective.
@@Mpl3564 CP can only buy new long-haul rolling stock whenever they finally work out the debt, because since it's a for-profit free market, CP cannot get government assistance to purchase new long haul trains (the Alfa replacement)
Nice trip, I also thought that those red fronted Commuter Units, were cute and with hints of the SNCF Astride Electric Locos Series 36000 and 43000, these were also used to haul the Thello Trains as they are Multi-System Locomotives, made in France of course.
Oh, I see what you mean! Similar livery too.
The commuter units are siemens
If the clock was a little bigger, the station building looked identical to the classic clocks produced 100 years ago.
Which station do you mean Eddie?
@@SuperalbsTravels Porto
I hope that in the future you will also travel with Alpha Pendular
@@eddieimmortalkingofuniverse Yep, I've got two videos of them coming! :)
@@SuperalbsTravels Ok .....good night and continued pleasant travels
Good to see you doing Porto. Will you be doing Lisbon and Faro. These trains are amazing. And even the Medway freight trains are amazing.
Not doing Faro unfortunately, but yeah I love the Medway livery!
@@SuperalbsTravels Ok not to worry.
Only been to Lisbon but need to get to Porto
@@s125ish Can you please go comment on a comment box or on someone else please. Not on mine.
The name of the company is CP, or if you want CP Comboios de Portugal, it is not Comboios de Portugal.
And the train is Pendular, not Pendolino, this is not Italy.
Plymouth and Saltash!
Saltash is a city? 😅
@@SuperalbsTravels oh yeah sure 😂