The former CF do Vale do Vouga viaduct over ihe River Vouga at Poco de Santiago only serves as a footpath these days.
Photo Tony Bowles

The pictures in this gallery also cover the Dão line which was earliest of the lines in the area and was owned & operated by a separate company prior to nationalisation. This was the Companhia Nacional de Caminhos do Ferro, the owners of the Tua line which was already operating when the Dão line opened in 1890. Services on the line did not quite last a century, finishing as they did in September 1988.
The CF do Vale do Vouga was owned & operated by a Paris based company that started construction at Espinho and the first section to Oliveira de Azemeis was opened in December 1908 with the remainder of the line opening in stages through to Aveiro, that was reached in September 1911.

The line from Sernada do Vouga through to Viseu was also built & opened in stages, this time from both ends with the final central section opening in February 1914. Services were first suspended on the Viseu line in 1972 due to the perceived fire risk from steam locomotives but were reinstated in 1975 using railcars and some substitute bus services. Rail services were finally suspended for good from 1st January 1990 and both Viseu & Vouzela station sites have since been redeveloped.

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