43 speakers participate in the third edition of the conference “Portugal Railway Summit”, at the Leixões Cruise Terminal.
Organized by the PFP - Associação da Plataforma Ferroviária Portuguesa, this event aims to promote the discussion and vision of the railway sector on its importance for the fulfillment of the goals of the Green Deal, the effective mobility of populations and the efficient transport of goods, encouraging Intermodality and its axes of development and integration with FERROVIA.
The discussion panels are dedicated to the themes of “National Investments” and “Innovation and Technological Challenges”. Tomorrow, there will be two panels on “Intermodality” and “Forum of Portuguese Clusters”, ending the event with pitching sessions by companies in the sector.
Established on 23 July 2015, the PFP has the mission of “making Portugal an international reference center in the railway sector and a privileged place for the development of Research, Development and Innovation projects in the railway sector”.
Currently, the association has more than 90 members, divided between large companies (public and private), small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), non-business entities of the National Research and Innovation System and other business associations, seeking to represent the value chain. of the railway in Portugal. For the president of Plataforma Ferroviária Portuguesa, “we are experiencing a favorable period for the railroad”. João Figueiredo acknowledges, however, that this was not always the case. “We have to recover decades of disinvestment in the railroad and bet on the decarbonization of transport. The community funds that we have are an opportunity to make the railway the pillar of national mobility, promoting intermodality in transport”, he defended.
It is recalled that Matosinhos hosts the CP's Oficinal Pole of Guifões, headquarters of the CCF - Railway Competence Center, whose objective is to position "Portugal as a reference in the railway industry, in the development of technologies and new products, in the formation of human capital and national companies and in the acceleration of ideas, projects and companies with internationalization capacity”.
One of the goals set by the Government is the construction of the first Portuguese train. “Finally, the railway returned to political concerns. For years, it was undervalued. We are recovering that path. The railway has a decisive role in the decarbonization of cities. In the case of Matosinhos, the reopening of the Leixões line for passenger transport is essential”, stressed the Mayor.
In addition to Luísa Salgueiro, at the inaugural session of the "Portugal Railway Summit", the executive director of the Portuguese Railway Platform - Paulo Duarte, the president of the IMT - Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes - Eduardo Feio, the president of the AMT - Autoridade da Mobility and Transport – Ana Paula Vitorino, the vice presidents of CP - Comboios de Portugal and IP, respectively Pedro Moreira and Carlos Fernandes, the president of Metro do Porto – Tiago Braga, Metropolitano de Lisboa – Vítor Domingues dos Santos, the councilor for Economic Development – Marta Pontes, among other public and private sector agents.