CP – Comboios de Portugal more than doubled its profit in 2025, closing the financial year with a net result of €4·8m, representing a 166% increase on the €1·8m recorded in 2024, according to figures released by the Portuguese Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing.
Record passenger numbers
The public rail operator carried 208·2 million passengers in 2025, the highest figure of the 21st century, with a year-on-year increase of 19·9 million passengers, equivalent to growth of 10·6%.
Regional and inter-regional services drove the most significant upturn, with demand almost doubling following an increase of 16·4 million passengers — a rise of 107·1%.
The Green Rail Pass: a key driver of growth
The Portuguese Government attributes much of this growth to the Passe Ferroviário Verde (Green Rail Pass), launched in October 2024, which allows unlimited nationwide rail travel — excluding Alfa Pendular services — for €20 per month. Since its introduction, the pass has accumulated 780,000 subscriptions and more than three million reservations on Intercidades services. The measure has had a particularly notable impact on regional services, which historically recorded lower patronage.
A new era of commercial autonomy
Beyond the financial results, CP has been removed from Portugal’s General Government Institutional Sector register, a reclassification that will, from 2027, grant the company greater autonomy in management and procurement, bringing it closer to a private-sector operating model.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, described the results as “a signal of confidence in the company’s future as a public operator” and reiterated the Government’s commitment to investment in rail and decarbonised mobility. Whilst privatisation of CP is not on the official agenda, work is under way on the concession of Lisbon and Porto suburban rail services — with Grupo Barraqueiro (owner of Fertagus) and Transdev having expressed interest.