CP gains greater autonomy under Portugal’s new framework

CP greater autonomy is expected to give the operator more room to act in financial and managerial terms. This follows a statistical reclassification of CP – Comboios de Portugal as a market entity under European rules applied by Eurostat. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The change does not alter the company’s status as a public rail operator. It also does not affect its public service duties. CP’s budget treatment is changing, but the operator says its role in the public rail system is not. At the same time, the change eases the budget constraints applied to CP. It also gives the company more flexibility in investment planning and management decisions.

CP greater autonomy and budget rules

CP says it will no longer fall within the state’s budgetary perimeter. The company says it covers most of its costs through its own revenue, in line with Eurostat’s ESA 2010 rules. In addition, its accounts will no longer be consolidated within the general government sector. They will also no longer be directly reflected in the public deficit.

As CP explains, the new legal and institutional framework should reduce stricter budgetary rules. It should also strengthen the operator’s financial and managerial autonomy. In addition, the company says the shift brings its operating model closer to a business-style approach. That should allow greater agility in decision-making.

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Starting in 2027, the company says the new statute should offer better conditions for strategic investments. These include fleet renewal and modernization, stronger service reliability, and improvements in the passenger offering.

CP remains a public rail operator

Even with this institutional change, CP stresses that it will remain part of the state-owned enterprise sector. The company says it will continue to comply with the transparency, oversight, and control obligations that apply to public companies.

CP also maintains that the new framework does not call into question its role as a public rail operator. It also says the change does not alter the Portuguese state’s commitment to citizens’ mobility and territorial cohesion.

At the same time, public rail services will remain fully guaranteed. CP notes that public service obligations will continue to be defined and guaranteed by the state through the Public Service Contract. They will also remain subject to the regulatory and supervisory mechanisms that apply to the state-owned enterprise sector.

Investments, railway sector liberalization and competition

The operator also links the change to railway sector liberalization, as Railway Pro reports. It says the new framework should give it better conditions to operate in competitive markets, including future high-speed services.

CP’s position is that greater autonomy should help it respond more quickly to the needs of the railway system and to passenger expectations. Meanwhile, public operators are facing increasing pressure for efficiency and modernization.

Pedro Moreira, Chairman of CP’s Board of Directors, said the company’s mission remains the same even as the institutional framework around it changes.

“CP’s mission remains unchanged; only the legal and institutional framework is changing, which allows us to have greater autonomy, within a framework that seeks to balance efficiency, sustainability, and the public interest, while also entailing a greater responsibility to continue ensuring, with rigor and commitment, CP’s future sustainability,” said Pedro Moreira.

He added that CP has achieved positive results in recent years, which the company presents as one of the factors supporting this change.

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