Portuguese Railway Company
 Company logo, on a CP Class 9300 railcar | |
Native name | Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (Royal Company of Portuguese Railways) |
| Company type | S.A. |
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Central Peninsular Railway Company of Portugal |
| Founded | May 11, 1860 in Portugal |
| Founder | José de Salamanca y Mayol |
| Defunct | April 15, 1975 |
| Fate | Nationalised by the Portuguese state |
| Successor | Comboios de Portugal |
| Headquarters | , |
Areas served | Portugal, Spain |
Key people | Pedro Inácio Lopes, Roberto de Espregueira Mendes |
The Portuguese Railway Company (Template:Lang-pt) was the main railway operator in Portugal. Founded on 11 May 1860 by the Spanish businessman José de Salamanca y Mayol under the name Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses[1] (Royal Company of Portuguese Railways), it changed its name after the 5 October 1910 Revolution.[2] In the first half of the 20th century, it underwent a process of expansion, assimilating several private railway companies and the railways that had been under the management of the Portuguese government.[3] However, the effects of the Second World War, and the advance of road[4] and air transport[5] its economic situation deteriorated to such an extent that, after the Carnation revolution, the company had to be nationalised and transformed into a new institution, called Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses.[6]
History
Royal Company of Portuguese Railways
Formation
In the middle of the 19th century, the Central Peninsular Railway Company of Portugal, which had been contracted to build a railway link between Lisbon and Spain, was encountering technical and financial difficulties, which was delaying the project considerably; the English businessman Samuel Morton Peto, who was managing the works, was commissioned to form a new company to replace the Central Peninsular Railway Company of Portugal, but without success, and his contract was terminated on 6 June 1859.[1]
The government therefore drew up a new contract on 30 July with the Spanish businessman José de Salamanca y Mayol, who formed the Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (Royal Company of Portuguese Railways) to build the rail link between the North Line and the East Line; the company's articles of association were drawn up on 12 December and approved on the 22nd of the same month, and the company was formally incorporated on 11 May 1860,[1] although the decree making this official was only published on 20 June.[7]
On 25 June 1865, the Royal Company acquired the rights to operate the Norte line from José de Salamanca.[1] On 10 November, the public deed was approved, and the section already built, between Lisbon and the Asseca Railway Bridge, passed to the Company.[8]
Operations
In January 1902, one of the locomotives ordered by the company from Fives-Lille to provide fast services had already arrived and was being assembled that month in the workshops in Lisbon.[9] The 1901 report, presented that same month, stated that the company's financial situation was quite favourable, mainly due to the fall in coal prices.[10]
Transition to the Portuguese Railway Company
After the 5 October 1910 Revolution, the Royal Company of Portuguese Railways was transformed that year into the Portuguese Railway Company.[2]
Portuguese Railway Company
First World War
After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, there was a sharp rise in coal prices, which led the company to reduce services and use firewood to power its locomotives, which caused several problems with the maintenance of rolling stock. That year was also marked by several general strikes by railway workers, with serious acts of sabotage taking place[11] which led to the need to order an army intervention.[12]
Period between the two World Wars
After the end of the First World War, operating problems remained due to rising prices, to which the operators responded by issuing surcharges.[3] Coal, in particular, remained scarce and overpriced, so the use of firewood in locomotives continued.[3] On the other hand, social problems also continued, aggravated by new measures such as the introduction of the 8-hour working day, which led to various conflicts and strikes, such as the closure of the workshops at the Entroncamento in 1922, which had a detrimental effect on motor equipment.[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d TORRES, Carlos Manitto (1 January 1958). "A evolução das linhas portuguesas e o seu significado ferroviário". Gazeta dos Caminhos de Ferro (in Portuguese). 70 (1681): 10, 11. Cite error: The named reference "Gazeta1681" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b OJANGUREN, Arturo E. Sanchez (December 1979). "Portugal se Esfuerza en la Modernizacion de sus Ferrocarriles". Via Libre (in Spanish). 16 (191): 16. Cite error: The named reference "ViaLibre191" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d Os Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses 1856-2006, p. 63
- ^ Martins et al, 1996:63, 64
- ^ 100 Obras de Arquitectura Civil no Século XX, p. 107
- ^ Martins et al, 1996:70
- ^ Martins et al, 1996:16
- ^ Martins et al, 1996:18
- ^ "Linhas portuguezas". Gazeta dos Caminhos de Ferro. Vol. 15, no. 337. 1 January 1902. p. 11.
- ^ "Orçamento da Companhia Real". Gazeta dos Caminhos de Ferro. 15 (340): 51. 16 February 1902.
- ^ Os Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses 1856-2006, p. 13
- ^ Os Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses 1856-2006, p. 66
Bibliography
- 100 Obras de Arquitectura Civil no Século XX: Portugal. Lisboa: Ordem dos Engenheiros. 2000. p. 286. ISBN 972-97231-7-6.
- Os Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses 1856-2006. CP-Comboios de Portugal e Público-Comunicação Social S. A. 2006. p. 238. ISBN 989-619-078-X.
- MARTINS, João Paulo, BRION, Madalena, SOUSA, Miguel de, LEVY, Maurício, AMORIM, Óscar (1996). O Caminho de Ferro Revisitado: O Caminho de Ferro em Portugal de 1856 a 1996. Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses. p. 446.
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