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Article: Refer faces a tough challenge. (Portugal).
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- February 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It is barely four years since Portuguese Railways (CP) was stripped of its responsibility for infrastructure to create a new track authority called Refer. IRJ visited Lisbon to talk to Eng Francisco Cardoso dos Reis, who recently took over as president of Refer.
THERE were two main reasons for separating infrastructure management from railway operations in Portugal, according to Cardoso dos Reis. The first was to prepare for the expected liberalisation of rail transport by ensuring the existence of transparent competition mechanisms. However, as Cardoso dos Reis admitted: "There are no private railfreight operators in Portugal as yet." The only private passenger ...