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The Revive program comes to the railroad. The private ones will convert abandoned spaces into hotels in the north and Alentejo.
The Government is going to extend the program for the reactivation of public buildings for tourism purposes to train stations and pedestrians. In the first phase, 30 sites have already been identified, mainly in Alentejo and in the north.
“These are stations in a vacant state and that are not part of the railway renovation plans in Portugal. They can be mobilized for other purposes,” says the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques.
In the north, some of the stations on the Sabor line and the Valença-Monção section of the Minho line will be renovated, unused since 1989.
The departure to the Revive Ferrovia should take place today in Sousel, in Alto Alentejo, another of the stations to be converted. In addition to this, others have already been identified, such as Serpa-Brinches (Moura branch), Vimieiro and Ameixial (Évora line), Santa Vitória-Ervidel and Penedo Gordo (Alentejo line variant Beja).
Other locations in the old branches of Moura, Portalegre, Reguengos and Cáceres, all closed in 1990, with the exception of Cáceres, in August 2012 will also join this program.
Competitions in 2021
The manager of the National Railway Network (IP) will sign a protocol for the stations and stops to go to the investment fund associated with the Revive Natureza program. With five million euros from Turismo de Portugal, this fund was launched in 2019 to help restore old forest houses, tax guard posts and other small scattered properties.
In the second phase, in the first quarter of 2021, the first public tenders will be launched to grant these spaces to private operators. The winner of each station must then finance the work with their own funds or seek support from the bank. Each infrastructure must be leased for at least 20 years; the term varies according to the contract.
The State, in addition to not having maintenance expenses with these properties, receives an annual income. As it is a sub-concession, the stations and stops will be able to receive passengers and trains again once the contract is finished if IP so wishes. The private ones “have a tourist offer in places with constructions that are generally difficult to find.” Travelers will be able to visit places far from the main cities.
Launched in 2016, Revive has already guaranteed the State a total of 2.4 million euros in annual rent through the 18 concessions granted so far.
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