After almost six years, Elvas and Badajoz are once again connected by rail. Yesterday the first passenger train arrived on the so-called Eastern Line, which Portugal has relaunched, recovering the route between Entrocamento and the capital of La Paz after it was abolished in late 2011 due to its low profitability.
There will be a daily trip in each direction, arriving in Badajoz at 14.16 hours and leaving from this same point at 16.24 hours. Six travelers from Portugal were the first to use this service, which offers 94 seats in a single car. They got off at the Renfe station after a quarter past two in the afternoon. The ticket price to Entroncamento is 12 euros and to Elvas, 1.95 euros. The route is shortened by a quarter of an hour compared to the time it was carried out for the improvement works that were carried out before its removal.
The Portuguese Assembly approved in January 2016 a resolution, at the request of Los Verdes, to resume passenger service on this route, in which the transport of goods was maintained. The initiative of the ecologists had the support of all the political groups with representation in the assembly and in June of this year, as reported by this newspaper, it was announced that the service between Entrocamento and Badajoz would be offered again.
One of the travelers who used the train yesterday was the deputy of the Left Bloc Paula Neves, who, in statements to the press, stressed that it was a “victory” for mobility, which she had been demanding for a long time from citizens and that the responsible politician hoped that it will continue in the future.
