Matosinhos, Portugal, Nov. 20, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's minister for infrastructures and housing denied on Wednesday any "cause and effect relationship" between railway accidents and drivers' blood alcohol levels, pointing to the lack of investment in infrastructure as the main reason for accidents in Portugal.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an inaugural visit to the 31st edition of Concreta /Elétrica, which runs until Saturday at Exponor in Matosinhos, Miguel Pinto Luz said that the high rate of railway accidents in the country is the result of a combination of several causes, ‘alcohol not being one of them’.

‘It has to do with a lack of investment in infrastructure, that's the main [cause]. We have a lot of level crossings, we have infrastructure that is already very old, but also high suicide rates,’ he said.

‘So there are many [causes], and alcohol is certainly not one of them, and the government has been clear about that. If we want to create a case, we can create it, [but] the government has a clear conscience about it,’ he added.

At issue are the statements made by the minister for the presidency, António Leitão Amaro, at a press conference after Thursday's cabinet meeting, in which he said that "it's not very well known, but Portugal has the second worst performance in terms of the number of accidents that occur per kilometre of railway", explaining that the government has approved a bill that reinforces "the administrative offence measures for train drivers, creating a ban on driving under the influence of alcohol".

Meanwhile, the National Union of Portuguese Railway Train Drivers (SMAQ) has called a general strike for 6 December because it believes that the government has not clarified the relationship between rail accidents and the alcohol content of train drivers and to demand adequate safety conditions.

For Miguel Pinto Luz, who has ‘deep respect for train drivers and the railway sector’, the fact is that ‘there has been no cause and effect relationship established’ by the government between rail accidents and drivers' alcohol levels, so “there are no possible apologies”.

'The government, in the voice of the minister for the presidency, the day after [the statements after the cabinet meeting], once again made clear what was already clear from our point of view. Therefore, the Train Drivers' Union makes the analysis it does. The right to strike is inalienable, and we have a clear conscience. Everyone knows how hard, willing, and committed this government is to investing in railways,’ he emphasised.

PD/ADB // ADB.

Lusa