Extremadura and Portugal have been connected by rail again since mrartes 29 August, albeit in a practically testimonial way, as it supposes that the line between the Portuguese town of Entrocamento connects with Badajoz.
At 14.16 Spanish time a Comboios de Portugal machine (the equivalent of Renfe in the neighboring country) made a final stop today on track 5 of the pacense station after making its previous stop in the Portuguese town of Elvas.
Six people got off the locomotive car with capacity for 94 passengers. One of them, Paula Neves, belonging to the Portuguese Left Bloc, happily commented that this first journey was a “mobility victory” after a fight that she said had been worth it since from now on the inhabitants of Alentejo are connected with the main cities of the country after five years incommunicado by train.
The train that connects Badajoz with Portugal through Elvas will be daily, arriving in Badajoz at 14.16 hours and departing in the reverse direction at 16.24 Spanish time. Tickets must be purchased on the train itself, as Renfe cannot sell them, and the entire journey costs 12 euros. In the case of Elvas-Badajoz the ticket price is 1.95.
This regional line is called ‘Linha do leste’. Between Badajoz and Entroncamento the train stops in sixteen Portuguese towns, connecting at last one of the most economically depressed areas of the Portuguese country that had spent years claiming to improve its communications.
