Évora Railway Station (Portugal)

On December, 2017, the Railway Heritage World Blog went to Évora Railway Station in Portugal. Do you remember the Ecopista Ramal de Mora? Well, this railway branch used to start here. And, do you remember the tiles of São Bento Railway Station in Porto? This railway station has some samples of those too!

History

The first contest to find builders to the first railway line of Évora was planned by the Council for Public Works and Mining on September 16, 1859. The construction contract was an agreement between the Government and the Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro do Sueste on January 1º, 1860. This contract was based on the construction of a line between Vendas Novas and Évora, connected to Beja. From that moment on, Évora became a railway junction and the railway station surroundings started to be occupied by some new infrastructures.

Évora is a UNESCO heritage since 1986; it is well known for its temple and its whitewashed houses. The railway station is located out of this historical center, thus, after its construction, many urban and industrial infrastructures were built close to the building. Meanwhile, the railway infrastructure expanded. After the inauguration of the first line in 1863, Évora was connected to Estremoz in 1873, to Arraiolos in 1907 (this branch reached Mora in 1908) and to Reguengos de Monsaraz in 1927. Unfortunately, after the highways empowerment, the railway lines connect to Évora started to decline. The branch between Évora and Mora was deactivated in 1987.

The Building

Current, up on Évora railway station is written 1940, that probably is the year of its construction, but in 2011 it was made some renovation work to electrify its lines and take better advantage of the building. However, the infrastructure use gives preference to the transportation of goods. To take passengers to Lisbon, for example, there are only four trains per day; it is a shame, because, as São Bento Railway Station in Porto, the railway station of Évora has some João Calaço’s art (1868-1942). As usual, the images preserve some National memories and represent some of the emblematic monuments of the city.

In the building we could see the ticket office, a waiting room, a bar, which has some old train photos, the bathrooms and a stylish old sign, where we could see the train schedule.

Final Considerations

Évora railway station is very well preserved and the city keeps using it. A real surviver of the Mora Railway Branch. It does not make part of the UNESCO heritage monuments of Évora, but it is an important mark of the Portuguese contemporary history and a monument able to promote the preservation of other memories...