Linha da Beira Alta is an international railway line which connects Pampilhosa on the

Linha do Norte Linha do Norte is the Portuguese main railway line that connects the two main Portuguese cities, Lisbon and Porto. Its length is . It goes through some other important cities like Vila Franca de Xira, Santarém, Entroncamento, Pombal, Coi ...

, close to

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

, to the border with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, at

Vilar Formoso Vilar Formoso is a town and civil parish in the municipality of Almeida, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,219, in an area of 15.14 km2. One of the most important crossings on the Portugal–Spain border is located just next to the tow ...

. The electrified, mostly single-track,

iberian gauge Iberian gauge ( es, ancho ibérico, trocha ibérica, pt, bitola ibérica) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. This is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The Indian gauge, ...

(1,668 m) line runs parallel to the

Mondego River The Rio Mondego () or Mondego River is the longest river entirely within Portuguese territory. It has its source in Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain range in mainland Portugal (i.e. excluding the Portuguese islands). It runs from the ...

. It is the main railway access from Portugal to the rest of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

.Martins et al, 1996:198-199 It was constructed by Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses da Beira Alta to open a new international link, closer to Coimbra, and to connect the line to the

Port of Figueira da Foz A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. It was opened on 3 August 1882. During the modernisation and electrification in the 1980s and 90s the signalling and tracks were replaced.Martins et al, 1996:198-199 As of June 2023, the entire line is closed for further modernisation work with buses replacing passenger trains. Completion date unknown. The works include construction of a new chord, th
Concordância da Mealhada
allowing freight trains from the north to avoid the Pampilhosa area. Level (grade) crossings are to be eliminated and upgraded signalling installed. More information, in Portuguese, at https://www.infraestruturasdeportugal.pt/pt-pt/modernizacao-da-linha-da-beira-alta-2

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* * Bei Iberian gauge railways Railway lines opened in 1882 Cross-border railway lines in Portugal Cross-border railway lines in Spain {{Europe-rail-transport-stub

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