Linha Do Tua
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The Tua line was a
metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
railway line in northern
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, which connected Tua to
Bragança Bragança may refer to: People *Jaime Celestino Dias Bragança, a Portuguese footballer Politics and History *House of Bragança - A Portuguese Royal House *Duke of Bragança - A Portuguese noble, and later royal, title * Bragança - One of the m ...
. The line was opened in 1887 and closed in 2018. The section from
Mirandela Mirandela (), officially the City of Mirandela (), is a city and a municipality in northeastern Portugal. The city itself is contained by the Mirandela parish, which had a population of 11,397. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 21,38 ...
to Brunheda is planned to be reopened in 2019.


History

This highly scenic line ran north from a junction with the main
Douro line The Douro line (Portuguese: Linha do Douro) is a 99-mile (160 km) railway line in northern Portugal that runs from Ermesinde to the eastern terminus at Pocinho. The line runs close to the Douro, Douro River for much of its route, offering ...
at
Tua Station The Tua Railway Station () is a railway station located in the Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish of Castanheiro do Norte e Ribalonga, in the Concelho, municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães, close to the confluence of the Douro River and the Tua ...
, closely following the banks of the
Tua River Tua () is a river in northeastern Portugal, flowing by the border of Vila Real District and Bragança District. It is a tributary of the Douro River. The biggest and most important city it flows through is Mirandela. The Tua line was a narrow ...
to the towns of
Mirandela Mirandela (), officially the City of Mirandela (), is a city and a municipality in northeastern Portugal. The city itself is contained by the Mirandela parish, which had a population of 11,397. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 21,38 ...
and
Bragança Bragança may refer to: People *Jaime Celestino Dias Bragança, a Portuguese footballer Politics and History *House of Bragança - A Portuguese Royal House *Duke of Bragança - A Portuguese noble, and later royal, title * Bragança - One of the m ...
. The railway opened in 1887. It was the first and longest (at 133.8 km) of all the narrow gauge railways built to serve the area north of the River Douro. It was originally operated by Companhia Nacional de Caminhos de Ferro (CN). From 1947 onwards, until closure, the line was operated by CP. Trains on the line were hauled by steam locomotives for much of the line's existence. From the 1970s onwards trains on the line were hauled by CP Class 9020 diesel locomotives, which were withdrawn when the line closed. Diesel railbuses, such as the Série 9300 and finally the Série 9500, were also used on some passenger trains. Part of the route of the Tua line was submerged in 2016 after the conclusion of Foz Tua Dam. Other narrow gauge railways in northern Portugal included the
Corgo line The Corgo line ''()'' was a railway line in northern Portugal. It closed in 2009. It ran north from Régua (a junction station on the main Douro railway line running along the Douro Valley) to Vila Real and Chaves. The line was latterly oper ...
and the
Tâmega line The Tâmega line ''(Linha do Tâmega)'' was a railway line in northern Portugal. It closely followed the course of the Tâmega River. It closed in 2009. History The southern part of the line opened in 1909; it ran between Livração (the junct ...
(both closed in 2009) and the
Sabor line The Sabor line ''(Linha do Sabor)'' was a railway in north-east Portugal. It ran for nearly 106 km between Pocinho and Duas Igrejas, near Miranda do Douro. It closed in 1988. History The Sabor line served a very rural part of the country ...
(closed in 1988).


Closure

The northern section of the line between Mirandela and Bragança was suddenly closed in December 1991, with the closure being formalised in 1992. The southern section between Tua and Mirandela remained in use. Most of the remaining 54 km section south of Mirandela was closed abruptly in August 2008 on grounds that emergency track repairs were necessary. This followed the derailment of a railcar near Brunheda, resulting in the death of a passenger and 25 injuries. A twice-daily
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
service replaced the train service, but was withdrawn on 1 July 2012 thus appearing to mark the final and formal closure of the line. However, the taxi service was restarted on 9 July 2012 for a further initial three-month period, later extended indefinitely. Though actual train services had been withdrawn, it was possible to travel as a passenger with a CP ticket using the replacement road service. In May 2016 the Mirandela local authority decided to withdraw funding for the replacement road service due to financial constraints. Budget cuts by the Portuguese Government led to a decision to permanently close the line, as announced in the Government's Strategic Transport Plan 2011–2015, published in October 2011. Actual train services were effectively withdrawn in 2008, apart from a short section around Mirandela which was operated as the ''
Metro de Mirandela The Metropolitano Ligeiro de Mirandela or simply Metro de Mirandela was a metre gauge suburban rail service in Mirandela Municipality, northern Portugal. The service was closed on 14 December 2018. During the day, trains ran with frequencies betw ...
'' until December 2018.


Future developments

As of 2018, the possibility of reopening the railway between Brunheda and Mirandela as a tourist attraction is being explored. The trackbed south of Brunheda will be submerged by the Foz Tua Dam scheme. A visitor centre for the Tua Valley (including features on the railway line) has been developed on the former Tua line platform at Tua station.


See also

*
List of railway lines in Portugal This is a list of railway lines in Portugal. List Sources

* {{Railway lines in Portugal Lists of railway lines by country, Portugal Portuguese railway-related lists, Lines Railway lines in Portugal, * ...
*
List of Portuguese locomotives and railcars This list provides an overview of the locomotives and railcars of the Portuguese railways, that is, the traction stock of earlier private railways, the state-owned ''Comboios de Portugal'' (CP) and its predecessor, the municipal ''Metro de Mirandel ...
*
History of rail transport in Portugal The history of rail transport in Portugal dates from 28 October 1856, when Portugal's first railway line was opened between Lisbon and Carregado: the ''Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses''. The network was gradually expanded both sout ...


References

{{Authority control T Metre-gauge railways in Portugal Railway lines opened in 1887 Railway lines closed in 2008