Storm Claudia Disrupts Rail Links To Lisbon

Published on Nov 13, 2025, 5:09 pm CST

7 min read

Key points

Storm Claudia triggers signalling failure and a short track collapse on key rail lines north and south of Lisbon
Train service is suspended between Entroncamento and Santarem and restricted to a single track between Pinhal Novo and Poceirao
Flooding, road closures, and earlier strike action mean fewer backup options for long distance and airport bound rail passengers
Storm Claudia is expected to keep rain and wind in the forecast into the weekend, so travelers should build larger buffers into rail transfers

Impact

Rail Itineraries: Recheck CP timetables on the day of travel and assume possible cancellations or extended journey times through Entroncamento, Santarem, Pinhal Novo, and Poceirao.
Airport Transfers: If you are using trains to reach Lisbon Airport, add at least one extra hour or move to an earlier departure to protect flight connections.
Backup Modes: Be ready to switch to buses, ride hailing, or rental cars, but remember that flooding and congestion can also slow road journeys around Lisbon and Setubal.
Ticket Flexibility: Whenever possible choose flexible or refundable fares so you can shift to different trains or travel days if Storm Claudia causes additional disruption.
Overnight Stops: For tight cruise or flight departures, consider overnighting in Lisbon or Porto rather than relying on same day long distance rail connections.

Storm Claudia has knocked out key rail links north and south of Lisbon, Portugal, on November 13, 2025, after a signalling failure between Entroncamento and Santarem and a storm related track collapse near Pinhal Novo forced suspensions and single line running just as recent long distance rail strikes were already trimming timetables. Travelers using trains to reach Lisbon, connect between northern cities, Setubal, and the Algarve, or link into flights from Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) face slower journeys, short notice cancellations, and fewer backup options while flooding also disrupts nearby roads.

Portugal Rail Disruption Between Entroncamento And Setubal

Infrastructure manager Infraestruturas de Portugal reports that a signalling system failure on the Northern Line stopped rail traffic between Entroncamento and Santarem around 700 a.m. local time, preventing trains from safely moving through one of the main corridors that funnel long distance and regional services into Lisbon. On the Alentejo Line south of the capital, heavy rain from Storm Claudia triggered a track collapse between Pinhal Novo and Poceirao at about 910 a.m., forcing a temporary shutdown until around 9:30 a.m., when traffic resumed on a single track with constrained capacity.

These sections sit on routes that carry long distance trains linking Lisbon with Porto and other northern cities, as well as services toward Setubal and the Algarve, so even a short outage ripples widely through the network. With one track out of service between Pinhal Novo and Poceirao and signalling degraded between Entroncamento and Santarem, operators are juggling fewer available train paths, which quickly leads to extended journey times, skipped stops, or cancellations for some services.

Storm Claudia, which has carried red rain warnings for Santarem and Setubal districts and widespread alerts elsewhere, has already produced hundreds of civil protection incidents, including flooding, power cuts, and local road closures across mainland Portugal and Madeira. National authorities confirm that at least two people have died in flood related incidents south of Lisbon, and thousands of customers have lost electricity at various points, which reinforces the message that today's disruption is driven by dangerous weather rather than a technical glitch in isolation.

Comboios de Portugal, CP, was already warning travelers about strike related disruption on some long distance services through November 13, after unions called a partial walkout that focuses on bar and onboard service staff on intercity routes. For passengers, that means today's storm damage layers on top of a timetable that was already thinner than normal, so substitutions or rebookings that might be easy on a full schedule are more constrained, especially on popular daytime trains.

Latest Developments

By late morning on November 13, Infraestruturas de Portugal had confirmed that traffic between Pinhal Novo and Poceirao was running again, but only over a single line, which sharply reduces the number of trains that can safely pass the damaged section each hour. North of Lisbon, the signalling failure between Entroncamento and Santarem continued to disrupt services, with some trains held, turned back, or rerouted, depending on rolling stock and crew availability.

Civil protection bulletins and local reporting describe a patchwork of additional weather impacts, from closed port facilities and suspended boat trips to flooded underpasses and roundabouts that slow or block substitute buses. In practice, this means that even where CP or regional operators are able to organize rail replacement coaches, journey times may balloon and some trips may have to be cancelled outright if roads become impassable or traffic grinds to a crawl around Lisbon and Setubal.

Travelers connecting to flights at Lisbon Airport, or to ferries and cruises leaving from Lisbon or Setubal, face the highest risk if they are relying on same day rail travel from northern cities, Coimbra, or the Algarve. With Storm Claudia expected to keep rain and wind in the forecast at least into the weekend, it is reasonable to treat November 13 and 14 as high risk days for both rail and road transfers, and to fall back on more conservative buffers than usual.

Authorities have not issued any new international security advisories in response to Storm Claudia or the rail problems. The United States State Department continues to rate Portugal at Level 1, exercise normal precautions, and allied governments such as Australia's Smartraveller also keep guidance at routine caution levels, framing the storm as an operational and infrastructure issue rather than a broader security or political concern.

Analysis

For rail passengers, the key operational takeaway is that there are two overlapping constraints on the Portuguese network this week, weather damaged infrastructure and industrial action. The signalling failure on the Northern Line and the track collapse on the Alentejo Line are clear examples of how intense rain and flooding can rapidly compromise rail safety, forcing infrastructure managers to suspend traffic until engineers can inspect and stabilize the affected segments. Single track working, which is now in place between Pinhal Novo and Poceirao, allows some movement while cutting total capacity, which is why timetables often show fewer trains and longer journey times whenever it is in use.

On the labor side, the ongoing strike by bar workers and certain onboard staff on long distance CP services reduces flexibility in how trains are crewed and what onboard services they can offer, and in some cases it pulls particular trains from the schedule altogether. Even when the basic infrastructure is available, operators prefer not to run services that fall short of minimum staffing or safety requirements, so industrial action can leave gaps in the timetable that expose travelers when something like Storm Claudia then removes parallel options.

Background, Portugal's rail system is split between infrastructure, which is managed by Infraestruturas de Portugal, and operations, which are dominated by CP and a small number of other operators. When weather hits, Infraestruturas de Portugal is responsible for track, signalling, and structures, and can order speed restrictions, single line running, or complete closures based on engineering assessments and meteorological forecasts. Operators then decide which trains to cancel, reroute, or short turn, and whether to deploy replacement buses, often coordinating with civil protection agencies when wider road closures or flood risks come into play.

From a planning perspective, the safest strategy over the next one to two days is to assume that any itinerary relying on CP trains through Entroncamento, Santarem, Pinhal Novo, or Poceirao could experience disruption. Travelers should monitor CP's website and app closely, look for push alerts about cancellations and replacement buses, and consider rebooking onto earlier trains, moving to more flexible tickets, or even overnighting in Lisbon or Porto if they are connecting onward to flights or cruises that have hard departure times.

Final Thoughts

Storm Claudia's impact on rail lines between Entroncamento, Santarem, Pinhal Novo, and Poceirao is a reminder that in Portugal, intense rain can disrupt national rail arteries and create compound risks when it coincides with planned strikes or other operational constraints. If you are planning to travel by train to or through Lisbon over the next couple of days, treat Storm Claudia as a signal to build extra buffer into your schedule, keep backup options in mind, and stay close to official updates from both Infraestruturas de Portugal and CP while repairs continue and weather warnings remain in effect.