During 1999, CP introduced its new flagship service, the Alfa Pendular, which operates between Braga - Porto - Lisbon - Faro using tilting trains.

Since 2005, management of the railway infrastructure has been split from CP, which instead focuses on train services, while the former role is now performed by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP).

On 28 October 1856, the first railway line in Portugal was inaugurated between Lisbon and Carregado; the event marked the origins of the Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses.

[3] In 1958, a railway rout formed a prominent part of the political campaign of the democratic opposition candidate Humberto Delgado for the Portuguese presidency.

[3] Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the majority of CP's rolling stock was built in Portugal by Sorefame - notably carriages with stainless steel bodywork.

During the 1970s and especially during the 1980s, as cars became increasingly affordable to average citizens, passenger demand on CP's network declined considerably, spurring decreases in investment, the cutting back on little-used services, and the closure of less trafficked lines.

[citation needed] In September 2012, the Portuguese government announced its intention to privatise portions of the suburban rail services of Liborn and Porto via a leasing arrangement.

[3] At the time, the infrastructure suffered from a lack of uniformity, particularly in respect to signalling and electrical supply systems, while freight services were subject to numerous restrictions even on heavily trafficked trunk lines.

[3] A programme of works to finally connect all the district capitals by a fully electrified double line was to be implemented from 2010; elements of this plan were based on the Swiss Rail 2000 model.

[10] In 2015, a new long-term strategy for Portugal's railway network was announced; it called for the full electrification of the network, along with the provision of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) signaling and control apparatus, infrastructure compliance with the relevant European standards along all of the main freight corridors for complete interoperability, and changed to enable the running of 750 m (2,460 ft)-long trains carrying up to 1,400 tonnes of cargo.