Pursuant to our policy of open and transparent communication, Infraestruturas de Portugal provides public information relating to the infrastructure we manage. The data is provided for diverse stakeholders, the State as the entity issuing the Concession, regulatory entities, clients, suppliers and the general public.
This information is updated every year and is a vital for defining the needs, strategy and priorities that serve as the basis for the company’s short and medium-term investment plan. It enables greater optimization while managing available resources and the response capacity for maintaining a suitable level of service (availability and reliability) to meet customer expectations.
This analysis brings together the indicators compiled via the regular activity of inspections and assessing the condition of the rail infrastructure IP manages. The performance indicators for 2019 are now available.
Safety of the Infrastructure
It is important to note that the assets classified at minimum values do not represent a safety risk for using the infrastructure. This assessment only serves to indicate the prioritizing of intervention work.
The infrastructure’s safety is safeguarded by means of inspections and audits and, whenever necessary, maintenance is carried out immediately, while operating conditions are kept at suitable levels (e.g., speed and/or cargo limits, road restrictions or stopping traffic).
- Scope and Methodology
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Assets
IP provides public information concerning the state of the infrastructure it manages with regard to the following types of assets that are part of the rail infrastructure:
- Railway track (track and track equipment) Special structures (bridges and tunnels) and geotechnical structures Traction support (overhead contact lines, substations and switching posts) Signaling and safety (signaling systems and ATP systems)
Assessment methodology
The state of the rail infrastructure is assessed by means of a methodology that transforms technical data from inspections into integrated management information.
Considering the need to harmonize the assessments of the state of the different types of assets that make up the networks, results are presented on the basis of four qualitative levels (Good, Reasonable, Needs Attention and Unsatisfactory). Known as the ‘Condition Status’, these levels correspond to a continuous scale that varies between 0 (zero) and 8 (eight), expressed as a Performance Indicator.
Condition Status Performance Indicator (PI) Description Good 6.00 to 8.00 Suitable for the long term Reasonable 4.00 to 5.99 Suitable for the medium term Needs Attention 2.00 to 3.99 Suitable for the short term Unsatisfactory 0.00 to 1.99 Needs investment Sources of information
This information is based on technical data from inspections, essentially obtained during the main inspection schedules for the networks. IP’s constant emphasis on developing technologies and processes for inspections and diagnostics, means that the methodology used to calculate the indicators could change, limiting comparisons with previous data and the interpretation of the information at a given point in time.
Moreover, the main inspections are part of a broader set of management and audit activities for the networks, which also include routine inspections for the aforesaid group of assets, generating daily information and, whenever necessary, these activities could result in actions to ensure that the infrastructure is used safely.
- Performance Indicators
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The representative values for the National Rail Network correspond to the weighted average (in relation to maintenance and renovation costs) of the respective indicators for each group of assets. This metric is included in the Contract Program signed between IP and the Portuguese State with regard to managing the National Rail Network.
Considering the entire National Rail Network, the Performance Indicator for 2019 (4.87) reflects an improvement in relation to the PI for 2018 (4.78). It is the weighted average of the respective indicators for each group of assets.
Considering the entire National Rail Network, the Performance Indicator for 2019 (4.87) is an improvement in relation to the PI for 2018 (4.78). This variation is, above all, due to improvements in track assets as a result of projects that have since been concluded, with special emphasis on the Douro, Beira Alta and Beira Baixa Lines. This recovery involves precisely the group of assets that were of a lower classification in overall terms as compared to remaining assets, showing that the company channeled investment to locations deemed to be a priority for recovering performance.
With regard to signaling and safety assets, the decline is due to an increase in the average service lifespan of these assets. Nevertheless, the data for 2019 indicates that in the case of the signaling assets, more than 80% were in a ‘Good’ or ‘Reasonable’ state. With respect to the Special Structures (Bridges and Tunnels) and Traction Support assets, even though no relevant changes have taken place as compared to 2018, it may be noted that 87% and 93% of these assets, respectively, were classified as being in a ‘Good’ or ‘Reasonable’ state.
Considering all the assets that are part of the National Rail Network, it should be noted that in 2019 around 73% of the NRN assets that were assessed were found to be in a ‘Good’ or ‘Reasonable’ state, while this figure was 67% in 2018.
