Portuguese Railway Company
Company logo, on a CP Class 9300 railcar | |
Native name | Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses |
|---|---|
| Formerly | Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (Royal Company of Portuguese Railways) |
| Company type | S.A. |
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Central Peninsular Railway Company of Portugal |
| Founded | May 11, 1860 in Portugal |
| Founder | José de Salamanca y Mayol |
| Defunct | April 15, 1975 |
| Fate | Nationalised by the Portuguese state |
| Successor | Comboios de Portugal |
| Headquarters | , |
Areas served | Portugal, Spain |
Key people | Pedro Inácio Lopes, Roberto de Espregueira Mendes |
The Portuguese Railway Company (Portuguese: Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses) was the main railway operator in Portugal. Founded on 11 May 1860 by the Spanish businessman José de Salamanca y Mayol under the name Companhia Real dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (Royal Company of Portuguese Railways), it changed its name after the 5 October 1910 Revolution. In the first half of the 20th century, it underwent a process of expansion, assimilating several private railway companies and the railways that had been under the management of the Portuguese government. However, the effects of the Second World War, and the advance of road and air transport its economic situation deteriorated to such an extent that, after the Carnation revolution, the company had to be nationalised and transformed into a new institution, called Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses [Portuguese Railways].