Portugal's 20-Euro Green Rail Pass Logs Its Best Month Ever in October, With 94,495 Top-Ups After It Spread to Lisbon and Porto Commuter Trains
Top-ups of the Passe Ferroviário Verde rose 26 percent in the first ten months of 2026, and October set a record in the first full month on CP's urban lines. Here is what the 20-euro pass covers and how residents buy it.
Portugal's 20-euro Green Rail Pass (Passe Ferroviário Verde) had its best month ever in October, the first full month in which it also covered CP's commuter trains in Lisbon and Porto. Passengers made 94,495 top-ups of the pass in October, 24 percent more than in October 2025, and top-ups for the first ten months of 2026 were up 26 percent on the same period last year, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing said in a statement on Sunday 8 November, as reported by Jornal de Negócios and by Lusa via Notícias ao Minuto.
A top-up (carregamento) is each purchase of a period of validity, so the figure counts passes bought, not passengers. The previous monthly record was set in September, with more than 88,000.
Who is buying it
According to the ministry, the pass has recorded more than 1.5 million top-ups since it was launched in October 2024. Its buyers are young: 32 percent are aged 21 to 30 and 15 percent are 20 or under. More than 85 percent of sales are digital, Negócios reported.
The extension to the Lisbon and Porto commuter lines was announced in late September.
What it means for you
The ministry's own examples show where the savings fall. A commuter from Monte Abraão, in Sintra, to Entrecampos in Lisbon used to pay 40 euros for the Navegante multimodal pass or 32.35 euros for a CP pass, and can now pay 20 euros, saving up to 240 euros a year. Someone living in Aveiro and working in central Porto used to need two passes, 40 euros for the Andante and 20 for the green pass, and now needs only the green pass, saving 480 euros a year. The green pass covers trains only.
CP's conditions page sets out the current rules:
- Who can buy it: Portuguese citizens and foreign nationals resident in Portugal.
- Price: 20 euros for 30 days, 40 euros for 60 days or 60 euros for 90 days, with no other discounts.
- Trains covered: Regional and InterRegional trains, the urban trains of Coimbra, Lisbon and Porto, and Intercidades in second class only, with a free seat reservation that is compulsory and must be made within the 24 hours before departure (two reservations a day at most). The Alfa Pendular is not included, and on the Entroncamento to Badajoz service the pass is valid only as far as Elvas.
- Validation: on Lisbon urban trains you must validate before every journey at a compatible gate or validator, including when changing from a regional or Intercidades train. On Porto urban, regional and Intercidades trains the guard checks it on board.
- How to buy: the pass is loaded onto a Cartão CP (CP card) in the CP app or on cp.pt under myCP, "Carteira > Cartões de Mobilidade" (Wallet, Mobility cards), at CP ticket offices or at vending machines in Lisbon metropolitan area stations. A new card can be requested online through the customer area using the Chave Móvel Digital (the State's digital login) or at any CP ticket office. CP's page says requesting the digital version at a ticket office requires a Cartão de Cidadão (citizen card); foreign residents should ask at the ticket office what they need to show.
The pass cannot be exchanged or refunded. Travelling with an expired or unloaded pass counts as travelling without a ticket and can bring a fine. Other fares may rise in January: see the 2027 fare update.
