Bridges
Tunnels
The National Railway Network includes 2,379 bridges, of which 850 are masonry structures, 631 are made of metal and 898 are made of reinforced concrete and/or pre-stressed concrete and mixed structures (reinforced concrete and sectional steel), including some of the most important railway heritage in Portugal. It is essential that bridges be safe and durable and can withstand wear and tear over time to ensure that railway traffic takes place without restrictions and in conformance with expected conditions for safety and comfort.
REFER carries out periodical inspections of bridges that are used for railway services, detecting anomalies by a detailed visual inspection of the structures, non-destructive tests, topographical and hydrographical surveys, levelling and underwater inspections. This ensures that maintenance activities and, whenever justified, the most in-depth repairs and interventions, are planned so as to minimise disruptions in terms of railway operations.
In addition to the abovementioned structures, there are also 258 deactivated railway bridges, which continue to require the attention and care deemed to be necessary.
There are 121 tunnels in the National Railway Network, of which 87 are on lines that are currently operational. These tunnels have a total length of around 30 km. The longest tunnel is the Rossio tunnel in Lisbon, with a length of 2,613 metres, which recently underwent comprehensive repairs and restoration.
Since 70% of these tunnels are over 100 years old, REFER has made significant investments in maintenance and repair work on these structures. These are delicate operations that, based on a careful evaluation, involve state-of-the-art engineering technology.