Lisbon, Jan. 20, 2026 (Lusa) - The chairman of CP - Comboios de Portugal, Pedro Moreira, said on Tuesday that all maintenance plans for the company's rolling stock are strictly complied with, certified and supervised, ensuring passenger safety.
At a hearing of the Infrastructure, Mobility and Housing Committee, Moreira explained that "safety in CP's operations is supported by the safety management system, which includes continuous and systematic risk assessment, situation control and the implementation of improvement measures whenever necessary, with monitoring by the Strategic Safety Committee".
Moreira, heard at the request of the PSD on the "anomaly" that separated a carriage from an Intercidades train in October 2025, pointed out that "the maintenance of rolling stock is rigorous, based on defined cycles and carried out by qualified technicians with extensive experience" and that "there is no unit in service that does not fully comply with the maintenance plan".
Pedro Moreira explained that CP's management system is certified by European entities, including the European Railway Agency, and that all certifications are subject to internal and external audits.
He also stressed that the company adapts maintenance to the age and operational context of the carriages, whose average service life is around 45 years, ensuring that "units only enter service if they are fully within the maintenance cycle, always ensuring the safety of all passengers".
Regarding preventive inspections, Pedro Moreira stated: "Immediately after this incident [in October], we began a series of checks" on the rolling stock.
"The criteria, as I said, are still being studied, but in this series of inspections we have replaced 22 elements preventively," he added.
He explained that this step "does not mean that these components had any problems," but that the company is "reviewing inspection procedures, defining exactly the type of non-destructive testing to be carried out and the criteria for acceptance and rejection."
He added: "We are currently being more cautious and, until the new criteria are defined, we are preventively replacing some of the components, starting with those with the most kilometres of service since the last inspection."
The president also addressed the renewal of rolling stock and the associated challenges: "For several years, CP has been trying to replace the rolling stock market and, in recent years, has obtained these authorisations. Renewing rolling stock and carriages is not a quick process. Between the launch of a tender and the receipt of the first units, it typically takes 3.5 to 4 years. These investments have to be planned in the medium and long term, otherwise it is not possible," he commented.
On human resources, Pedro Moreira acknowledged challenges in recruiting specialised staff.
"CP has to deal with an increase in kilometres travelled, which also results from an increase in passengers," and faces "a growing difficulty in recruiting these workers, because 20 years ago we had to pay above the market average, but now we pay slightly below the market average," he said.
Even so, he said that "there is no interference with the fulfilment of maintenance plans" and that, if there are not enough staff to carry out an intervention, "the units are immobilised and do not go into service, fulfilling traffic only when it is possible to carry out maintenance".
In October 2025, CP opened an inquiry to ascertain the "possible causes" of the incident involving an Intercidades train that lost a carriage due to broken couplings on 13 October while travelling between Lisbon and Faro.
SCR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
