The Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) has today launched a public consultation on the preliminary version of the study “Competition in the rail passenger and freight transport sector in Portugal”, in which it identifies constraints to the effective liberalisation of the sector and sets out 14 recommendations addressed to the Government, Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT) and railway undertakings. The study, carried out in a context of significant public investment — notably in the construction of high-speed lines and the renewal of rolling stock — concludes that substantial barriers to competition persist, particularly in rail passenger transport. It highlights, in particular, the absence of competition for the market through competitive tendering procedures for the award of public service contracts. Among its key recommendations, the AdC advocates limiting the extension of the public service contract awarded to CP – Comboios de Portugal to the period strictly necessary for the amortisation of the announced investments. Upon expiry of that period, an international public tender should be launched for the award of new public service contracts. In the same vein, the AdC recommends that the current public service contract of Fertagus should not be further extended, in order to promote competition for the market. The study further identifies obstacles relating to access to essential facilities and inputs for rail operations, namely rolling stock and skilled human resources, stressing that access to such inputs on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms will be critical to ensuring effective competition in future tendering procedures. The AdC therefore puts forward concrete recommendations aimed at securing such access. 

The public consultation will run for a period of 20 working days, until 30 March 2026. Interested parties may submit comments or observations to the following email address: consultapublica@concorrencia.pt