Weekend Trains Return to Lisbon's Alcântara-Terra on 13 December After 11 Years, One an Hour Each Way to Castanheira do Ribatejo

Trains will run again on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays between Alcântara-Terra, in western Lisbon, and Castanheira do Ribatejo, in Vila Franca de Xira, from 13 December. There will be one train an hour in each direction. The station has had no weekend trains since June 2015, when CP (Comboios de Portugal, the state rail operator) cut its weekend service back to weekdays only.

The timetable was reported on Thursday, 5 November, by RTP Antena 1, from an internal CP timetable document dated 4 November. RTP said the new weekend times already appear in the journey search on CP's website for 13 December. CP had not answered RTP's questions about the plan by the time of publication.

The weekend timetable

According to the document RTP saw:

• From Alcântara-Terra: the first train leaves at 06:26 and then one an hour, with the last at 20:26.
• From Castanheira do Ribatejo: the first leaves at 07:39 and the last at 21:39.
• No late trains: there is no service late on Saturday night or late on Sunday night.
• Journey time: the same as on weekdays, about 53 minutes from Alcântara-Terra to Castanheira do Ribatejo and 56 minutes the other way.
• Stops: trains call at every station the line serves on weekdays, so Marvila, which has no trains at weekends today, gets them back.

On weekdays the line keeps two trains an hour, falling to one an hour from about 21:00 or 22:00. CP will keep using its double-deck series 3500 trains on the route, RTP reported.

Why the service is coming back

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing had already set the date in a written reply to the Livre party's parliamentary question n.º 2559/XVII/1.ª, dated 22 September (the reply on parlamento.pt, Portuguese only). In it, the minister's office says:

• CP's Lisbon urban services are planned on demand studies carried out in 2025 by the consultancy TRENMO, alongside CP's own passenger counts;
• the Passe Ferroviário Verde (green rail pass), created in October 2024, came before those studies, so its effect on demand is still being monitored;
• on the Sintra and Azambuja corridor, demand is high on Saturdays from 08:00 to 18:00 heading into Lisbon and on Sunday afternoons heading out, which puts pressure on capacity at those times.

CP therefore plans to "reinforce" the Castanheira do Ribatejo to Alcântara-Terra service at weekends and on public holidays, "a measure that will be put into effect with the entry into force of the 2027 timetable, expected on 13 December 2026", the reply says.

What changes for passengers

Since 2015, weekend passengers on the Azambuja line have had one train an hour, running only to Santa Apolónia. That meant no direct weekend train to the more central stations on the route to Alcântara-Terra, and no easy link to the Cascais line. Alcântara-Terra is within walking distance of Alcântara-Mar, on the Cascais line. Before June 2015 there were two trains an hour on weekends between Azambuja and Alcântara-Terra, RTP noted.

A Lisbon residents' association, Vizinhos em Lisboa, had campaigned for an hourly weekend service. "There are people who have to make three connections to get close to Alcântara-Terra," its spokesperson Rui Martins told RTP Antena 1 last December.

Two things are still open: CP has not said whether it will adjust the new service to demand, and 13 December is the date the 2027 timetable is "expected" to start. Check CP's journey planner before you travel on the first weekends. In January, separately, train fares can rise by up to 2.66 percent, while the Lisbon and Porto monthly passes stay at 40 euros for now. Alcântara is also where the Lisbon Metro's Red Line extension is due to end.