LISBON to PORTO on Portugal's Premier Train! - CP Alfa Pendular First Class Review
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- čas přidán 17. 05. 2022
- Hello, and welcome back to another train trip review!
Today I'm trying out Comboios de Portugal (CP) on their premier train service! I'll be taking the Alfa Pendular from Lisbon to Porto, in the Conforto Class (First Class).
The train is a great way of how to get from Lisbon to Porto, and Porto to Lisbon. The Alfa Pendular service operates with six car Pendolino high-speed trains between Portugal's biggest cities.
Enjoy the video!
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Journey Details:
Origin: Lisboa-Santa Apolónia
Destination: Porto-Campanhã
Company: Comboios de Portugal (CP)
Train: CP 4000 Pendolino 'Alfa Pendular'
Accommodation: Conforto Class Seat (1st)
Distance: 209 miles / 336 kilometres
Price: €33.50 / £28.90 / $40.90
Time: 3h05m + 3L
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Find me elsewhere:
superalbs.weebly.com/
/ superalbs
/ superalbstravels
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I am a Portuguese from Lisbon, who worked ~15 years in Porto. I used AlfaPendular and Intercidades almost every weekend. These trains have a special place in my heart.
Awesome! You are very lucky to be able to ride these so much. :)
@giveme5mins If you are coming from the airport there is metro that takes less than 5 minutes to Lisboa-Oriente, were you can get both the train to Porto or Faro, in each end of Portugal.
can you compare 1st and 2nd class? I did not see it in a video.
@@giveme5minsnot too far you only need to get the metro to sao sebastiao and then go to the blue line to santa apolonia and it will take up to 20 mins or less
We will travel from Porto to Lisbon on 28/12, may I know what is the best website or the official website I can use to buy the train tickets? Also I understand there are 2 stations in Lisbon, may I know which one is close to the city centre? Thanks.
Besides Portugal having only 10 million inhabitants, they actually managed to build up an efficient, integrated and cheap service. Thats what I call good management.
Sólo los países más pobres de Europa no tienen trenes de alta velocidad, debido a su alto coste
@@j5igual38 of course...Sweden, Norway, Denmark, etc are poor 🤦♂️
@@j5igual38 Most Scandinavian countries also don't have high speed trains, so what's your point?
@@j5igual38 Que Portugal esté rodeada por un Estado más poderoso económicamente no significa que sea un país pobre. Por su PIB y gracias a los fondos FEDER, podrían construir un tren de alta velocidad; si no lo hacen, es porque prefieren invertir en la red convencional.
I find it so bad
It takes 9-10 hours to Madrid.
Before COVID there was catering service on the seat and I think that it has resumed. At least last time I travelled in Alfa pendular there was a lady with a car just like an airplane. I also think that the bar has headphones to offer and yes usually you can pay by card.
And btw Vouga line is now being fully renovated :)
If I'm not mistaking, this footage is from May/June 2021, so yeah, some things changed.
Correct, this is May 2021.
It's good to hear that the Vouga line is getting an upgrade, though. Is that for the entire route, including the central section?
@@SuperalbsTravels yes! Deep renovation that includes tracks, its bedding and the automatization of all remaining level crossings. Unfortunately it does not include the electrification of the line. The material that runs there now (the diesel units) were factory ready to be converted to electric traction in the future. Since that will definitely not happen, it has been made public that CP wants to run those same trains on hydrogen if the trials show that it's feasible.
@ Ah yeah. Think I read about that! Haven't they renovated some heritage traction too?
@@SuperalbsTravels the most recent is a 9000 series diesel loco that is being restored to be used there. Probably with the heritage train
Portugal was a big supplier of trains to the US, that's why we have similar trains, they were made at SOREFAME in the city of Amadora
oh wow. I didn't know that, I thought was the other way around. thanks for valuable comment !
Chicago trains were a big buyer of these portuguese trains
É uma pena que atualmente estejamos a comprar composições em segunda mão à Renfe e que as composições do Metro de Lisboa sejam produzidas em Espanha, também... A nossa indústria desapareceu.
It's a shame we closed that train carriage factory
@@miguelsequeira9240 Essa e tantas outras. E depois, queremos a economia a crescer. Todavia, há que ter em consideração que Bruxelas restringe a nossa ação, nesse campo.
Very insightful, out of London we used to fly down the west coastline of Portugal to Lisbon, and noted that the Atlantic breeze always kept the cloud away from the coast for about the 1st mile or so inland, and then the cloud built up and there was pretty solid cloud cover over most of the rest of the country. A beautiful helpful little video thank you very much for posting.
Thanks, glad you liked it!
I got to ride the Alpha Pendular recently in August, 2022. From Lisbon to Porto. What a thrill!!! Doing it again from Porto to Braga in April, 2023.
This is one of the best trains I've ever seen. Three hour journey for on $41? What a bargain, not to mention how luxurious.
You are absolutely right about the passenger cars in the beginning looking very American. Nearly all postwar passenger cars were built with fluted stainless steel. Easier and cheaper to maintain.
And the builder of these yellow trains, Sorefame, actually exported some units to the US, for example in the Chicago Metro
You can actually get it for much cheaper if you buy in advance
I've already use this service 3 or 4 times in my country , I like it.
It was indeed some fantastic value!
One of the added features of stainless steel clad trains is the fact that paint doesn't stick to stainless steel. If the train does get "tagged" a quick run through a high pressure washer and all that "artwork" just washes right off. I believe CP and SJ are the biggest operators of stainless steel clad trains in Europe.
It's many years since I travelled this route on one of these trains, but you have certainly brought out the positives of the refurbishment and brought back good memories. I think the 'funky' blue light in the toilets is possibly an anti-drug taking measure, but let's not spoil the atmosphere. 😄 Another excellent production and as good as many a professional travel doc made for promotional purposes.
Yeah, I was going to mention that, but funky and groovy is a lot more positive.
Glad you enjoyed, and thanks for the kind words. 🙏😁
Leather seats, packed with features, great modern interior design, a full on bar, and the highest quality train offered by CP, I love it. Also your channel is super underrated and the highest quality channel about travelling on trains that I've seen so far. Thank you for the video, Boa Noite from Portugal. 🇵🇹
Yes and its guaranteed that when you sample the delights of the bar, you puke the lot up, when you step off this tilting nightmare onto Terra Firma at your hoped for destination !!!!
@@railwaymechanicalengineer4587 which train ride in Portugal has better conditions though
@@encryptedaviation1452 NONE, its as simple as that. Portugal is 3rd World and takes what is on offer. Like Spain, there are NO Colleges or Universities that offer Railway Engineering degree courses. So like Spain their railway & its rolling stock are effectively controlled from Brussels under the EU open Contract system.
If you haven't noticed there are almost NO "Railway Companies" left in the World outside Japan. This is where the Railway Company runs, owns & controls its track, trains, stations, timetabled services, designs and builds its own trains, and basically owns everything within its boundary fence, and plans its future. Hence railways are on a downward spiral in virtually every department, and costs are skyrocketing. Because the whole business of "railway" has been devolved to outside industry. So many railway skills have also been lost, and Greed is now taking even the place of safety !!!
As the worlds population continues to balloon, this works both ways for railways. More ticket sales potentially but quality has to make way for Cattle Truck methods. Hence modern trains may look glamourous to members of the public, who are totally unaware of what a "Railway Company" can achieve. The only modern example is Japan, where Railway Company designed trains even have onboard Museums, and a thousand other mindboggling "extras" the rest of the World is in total ignorance of !!!!
@@railwaymechanicalengineer4587 you are or Angolan, Moroccan, Brazilian.
@@railwaymechanicalengineer4587 also here is a damn nuclear bomb so you can eradicate Portugal forever.
I am portuguese, living in England and did not know about this trip. Its fabulous snd i will definitely give that a go in the near future. Thank you very much for your great video and information. Extremely useful!
Thank you very much! 😎
What I like more is the sense of peace you feel inside the train, is super relaxing, cosy.
First 😜 This Superalbs dude sure knows how to make a train review video! The perfect amount of maps (1) and excellently spoken English, well done bro 👏🤩🇵🇹
What's coming up this week on your channel?
@@heidirabenau511 No video this week I'm afraid! 😭
@@NonstopEurotrip 😭
Thank you as always! 😉
Mano? É irmão de quem? Ou é um brasileiro burro?
love Portugal, Great country Great people
Agree!
Thank you
I have been looking for videos with the luggage info. Thank you so much for being so detailed!!!
Thanks for this relaxing and pleasant journey !
No problem, glad you enjoyed it. :)
Oh quick observation: the WiFi name makes a lot of sense if you speak Portuguese.
CP IAB, the CP part obviously stands for the railway company's initials, and IAB is for "Internet A Bordo", or "On-Board Internet".
Ahhh, I thought it was the carriage type or something. 😅
@@SuperalbsTravels the number may have something to do with it, at least at the InterCity services, not sure how it works in the Alfa's case.
Well! If you don’t speak Portuguese, LEARN IT! as I've done with English, Spanish, French & Italian.
@@lecirdaluz I've been to 39 countries, which speak a total of ~30 languages. I can't learn all of them! 😅
@@SuperalbsTravels : I didn’t tell you to learn them all. I just suggested that they learned Portuguese! Anglo countries refuse to add foreign languages to their transportation system so they should not expect/demand that Portugal 🇵🇹 added English to their transportation system. If they can’t and/or don’t want to learn Portuguese…it’s their loss. Good luck my friend.
That is a very smart train and a fabulously relaxing but engaging video from Superalbs. Thank you for another inspiring video!
Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it! :)
In 2018 I've took this service from Porto to Fatima with conection in Cimbra station and I've enjoyed a ull lunch meal service at my individual seat , consisting of pouched king salmon and steam vegetables pair it with a young vinho verde, cheesses asnd breads as appetazer and bolinho de natal and espresso coffe for dessert and a shoot of orujo !!! It was a fantastic trip and service excelently PORTUGUES !!! Greating from San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Thanks! I'll have to go back and try the meal service one day.
Thanks for your video. This train looks fabulous! Heading to Portugal in the autumn so this really is informative.
Love the content! Thanks for visiting Portugal!!
Thank you! More to come. 😊
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL TRAIN
Really enjoy your train vlogs, keep up the great work
Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoy watching as much as I enjoy making them!
Thanks! I’m taking this train soon so great to see what to expect.
Great video! I will definitely try this train out when I go to Lisbon.
Adoro viajar no comboio Alfa . Viajei muitos vezes. Confortável, rápido , adorável. 👍👍👍🇵🇹🚄
Excellence in train travel and at a great low price! Thanks for the trip!🎉
I am glad to know about this great value train to Oporto. Thanks! I subscribed.
Excellent video again from Superalbs. I have never been to Portugal it looks great, certainly makes me want to visit soon.
Thanks very much. :)
Thanks this will be part of my trip from Mexilhoeira Grande Algarve to Poole Dorset
Missed the train station in Porto! It’s beautiful 😍
Great vid, and interesting, as always. Thanks.
Thank you! :)
The train is just great, clean and spacious. I love it. The stations could use some extra care, but it's great that this train can run at that speed.
Excellent video, the train and the trip look great. ❤Portugal
Thanks!
Thank you posting this video! Very helpful for our trip from Lisbon to Porto.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for the video, beautiful and wonderful country.
We'll be in Portugal late this summer and plan to take the train from Lisbon to Porto during the trip. This vide was SO helpful and informative. Obrigado!
Obrigado! Glad this was of use to you, and enjoy your trip!
Super video! Nice train ride! Thumbs Up
Greetings from Dublin
Andrew
Very nice video, today help me a lot 👍🏽
Good to hear, thank you!
The Alfa Pendular, the Intercity trains and the Porto Urban trains in Portugal are quite good for travels near to the coast.
However, Portugal's railway network really breaks down in terms of offers and efficiency when it comes to travelling to the interior of the country and Spain, with international service specially being very lacking and very expensive.
It'd be stupid to spend money on railways no on uses.
@@jeanlundi2141 No one uses because our goverment fails to invest in the interior, which they should, starting with transportation.
Name one European country where cross-border traffic is efficient and inexpensive... OK, it could well be that things are different elsewhere, but if I look at my native Netherlands, international connections (with the exception of the line to Brussels) are a joke.
This Alfa looks great but it does seem the train from Madrid to Porto is lacking. From the US we are going to Madrid wanting to finish with two weeks in Portugal but it looks like it might be better to fly than use rail.
@@DSC800 Cross-border train travel within Europe is still a bit hit-and-miss. It can work great, but many state railways are still more concerned about their own vested interests than those of the traveller.
I think next time we go we will try this train 👍🏼 thx nice vlog
Sabrina🇫🇷🇬🇧
Awesome! Thanks for watching, hope you enjoy your ride. :)
A very good video - a much nicer livery and interior than most UK trains nowadays. The Lisbon station is no longer painted the pretty pale blue, but a deep red.
Correct. If I'm not mistaking, the footage is at least 10 months old.
Interesting, I'll have to pay another visit, that sounds beautiful! 😍
@@margaridavale7834 Sure, but it looked prettier in blue.
@@motttta it most definitely did not look prettier in that horrible pale blue...
That was a really nice video, I live in Lisbon and thank you for the video.
Thanks, glad you liked it. :)
Beautiful countryside. Excellent features inside the train.
thanks
I love train journey videos and information
Mostly intresting if discuss for train suspension system topic etc.💚
Stunning trains
They sure are!
so beeautiful scenery😍😍😍😍😍
love Portugal!
Muito obrigada pêlo atenção e pêlo apoio. 🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹❤️🤗
Glad I found this as I will be making this journey in early March.
Hope you have a lovely trip!
Thank you! I've learned alot.
Glad to hear it!
Very helpful, good to know about the coins for luagge and the cost of food, also knowing about supermarkets at railway station.
Nice! Thank you!!!
I LOVE it!
Thanks! 😃
Nice video my friend!
Thank you! :)
Great video. Love Portugal, next time i will take the train from Lisbon ti Porto
Yes, hope you enjoy it!
They are wanting to build a TGV train in Portugal. But it's not necessary, since these are cheaper, and can run on normal lines due to the tilting feature, only needing specific line features like straight lines. The Alfa is a great train for the longest runs in the country, being Faro-Lisbon-Coimbra-Porto-Braga. The lines going to the interior are served by normal trains which are slower. Even 2nd class in the Alfa is super comfy, and also has the laptop trays. I rode it several times when I was studying in Lisbon. I'd go to Régua, take the regional train, then take the Alfa to Lisbon, and then the Fertagus to Pragal. Much more comfortable than riding a bus.
Im Portuguese , and to be honest , u gave me info , that i really dont know , before .
Great Video !
Wow, that's good to hear! Thanks. :)
I'm so glad I found this video. We are traveling to Portugal in October and I was thinking that we would stay in Lisbon about four days and then rent a car to drive to Porto. But this would be so much more convenient and probably much cheaper.
loved it!
Great video, as usual! Haven't done this route in over 20 years! Great price compared to Northern Europe!
Wonderful done!!
Thank you very much! :)
Fantastic!
Thank you! :)
Thank this helps as I plan to go from Lisbon to Porto
Awesome, have a lovely trip! :)
Nice little trip with great value for money.
Great trip report
Thank you! :)
Prices weren't bad. Great video as always!
Thanks! :)
This brings back great memories of my three years in Portugal during the mid 1980s.
Great! I bet the trains were a lot less modern then... 😂
@@SuperalbsTravels Yep.... but much more beautiful!
great video!! felt like i was there in person
Awesome, glad it was so immersive. :)
Fiz esse percurso Estação Santa Apolónia a Estação Campanhã por comboio. É uma excelente viagem
Enjoyed video and will be on that train or the direct one to Porto in August, thanks for the info.
Hope you enjoy the journey. :)
I have boarded the AP train from Coimbra to Lisboa and back. It was overall a pleasant experience. I wish that there will be an AP train servicing Badajoz in Spain to Lisbon Portugal in the future. :) well made video.
Thank you very much! :)
Great trip report, algo.
Thanks!
Lindo passeio.
Uma boa sugestão de passeio por Portugal.
Nice video.
Thanks for Sharing.
Thanks for watching!! 🥰🥰
The quality of the premium train is very impressive for me. I love it.❤😀👍👍
It's nice isn't it! :)
@@SuperalbsTravels Yaeh!🙏🙌🙌🙏
Excellent; thanks
Was not expecting this high quality of a video. Wow. Simply Railway better watch out
Wow, thank you very much! Glad to hear you liked it so much. 😃
Wonderful train, super conditions the Alfa Pendular train.
Awesome review. Greetings.
Thank you! :)
old french corail trains; they used it for the TEE trains from Amsterdam towards Paris (when I was very young...). besides, nice video!
I’ve heard a lot about Porto and even talking with Portuguese people they said to me forget about the algarve and Lisbon and visit Porto so for roughly 4 years it’s managed to get onto my bucket list, lovely post
Don't forget Lisbon and Algarve, both are incredibly beautiful cities.
I've not actually made it to the Algarve before, but can confirm that Porto is lovely!
They're all beautiful in their own way. People are biased, of course. Visit them all and judge for yourself!
Thankyou for introducing Aolonio railway station. Introducing of enjoyfull and comfortable journey on the train in good fecilitys. I am an Indian is appreciting to your Portuguese railway zone. Greate 👍👍👍👍
That bottle of chocky milk you drank takes me to my youth, as we were served one of those (together with a ham or cheese sandwich) during one of our breaks in my primary school, back then when I was 7 or 8 y.o. and now I'm 59. Oh the memories and the taste of it! 😊
It's an excellent way to travel between the two cities, and for anyone over 65, there is a discount of 50%. Even the slightly slower Intercidades is a great train experience.
Only issue with the IC is the propensity for delays.
If you buy tickets a far in advance then there is even more discount (promo ticket) regardless of your age. For example; you pay €11,50 instead of €31,90
How many hours is ???
@@dimtsig8368 Lisboa Santa Apolonia - Porto Campanha 02h58
And Lisboa Oriënte - Porto Campanha 02h49
@@stefaniebakker5642 thanks for your answer I am thinking in the return of Porto too do a stop to aviero for 1-2 hours it’s ok???
A few years ago I travelled from Braga to Lisbon and back in a day. On the way down south I took the 'normal' train and it nearly shook the teeth out of my head. On the way back, the Pendular was smooth as silk. Only a few euros difference in price and completely worth it.
Amo lisboa minha amada cidade ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Yes! It is a very nice place. :)
Very nice video.
Agree. Excellent service. I have used it 3 times in last 9 months. Good deals by booking in advance, plus I get a seniors discount.
Bargain!
Where can I book tickets if I’m trying to book from USA? Read online that rail ninja is a scam and over charges.
I ♥ Portugal 🇵🇹
Me too! :)
Gorgeous-looking train!
Plugs go into sockets. Power socket!
Thanks for the tip!
I travelled via the same train last week from Lisboa Oriente to Porto camapanha; not the first class tho, but even that was superb!
It started a bit late but we arrived the destination as per the scheduled time.
Rode this same train in 2018, from Porto to Lisbon. Very smooth and fast.
I used it before and was really good :)
Thank you for the excellent video. It had everything I could ask for in a train service review. I am not a train aficionado, but I can easily see the identical interior features of these trains to the Acela (Amtrak in US) trains, even down to the foot rest. This journey is very similar to the Acela service between Washington DC and New York, but at only 10% to 15% of the price. One way Acela is between $200 to $400 (sometimes over $500)!
Best destination for traveling in Europe, cheap and affordable for all kinds of international traveller
I liked the video thank . I fact I am visiting Portugal in November 2022 on a cruise. Jp from California
The Station Lisboa- Oriente is Gorgeous, a Masterpiece of Architecture.
I have travelled in IC second class from Porto Campahna to Lisbon Santa Apollonia, great travel a week ago. Beautiful Cities, people wery warm and smart. A Great Country Portugal
It is lovely!
Nice video thanks
Thank you!
as a native Brazilian Portuguese speaker (who also speaks Dutch, French & Italian) I was amazed by how well you pronounced the Portuguese words. You always nail pronunciations… oh and ofc, great review as always!!
Thank you so much! 😁
love CP love Portugal