Portugal's Mobility and Transport Fund has opened applications for the country's first rail freight growth incentive, paying €0.01 per additional tonne-kilometre from an initial €300,000 envelope and covering operations between January 1 and October 30, 2026.

The mechanism marks Portugal's first dedicated scheme tied specifically to growth in rail freight volumes, rather than to fleet renewal or infrastructure works. Applicants must demonstrate an increase against their average performance over the equivalent window of 2024 and 2025. Applications close on October 30.

Who is eligible?

The call opens the door to applicants beyond licensed railway operators. Eligible categories include:

• Shippers
• Carriers
• Logistics operators
• Freight forwarders
• Other companies using rail freight services

The wider scope lets traders and intermediaries that book rail capacity but do not run trains themselves claim payment on incremental volumes, which the government hopes will reach beyond existing rail customers.

What does the rate mean in tonnage terms?

At €0.01 per additional tonne-kilometre, the €300,000 envelope is exhausted by roughly 30 million tkm of growth over the ten-month eligibility window. Each claim is assessed against the average of the applicant's 2024 and 2025 performance in the same calendar months, which sets the baseline against which "additional" tonne-kilometres are paid.

What is the policy rationale?

The government presented the measure as a lever for modal shift, lower freight emissions and stronger national logistics chains. "Investing in rail freight is investing in a more competitive economy and more sustainable transport. We are committed to this change," Infrastructure and Housing Minister Miguel Pinto Luz said.

The funding is also framed as an investment in resilience: by anchoring more goods to the rail network, the government argues, the country lowers its exposure to road congestion and fuel-price volatility.

How much funding is in play?

The incentive sits within the wider Sustainable Mobility Strategy and the Mobility and Transport Fund, which carries a 2026 budget of almost €15 million. That envelope also covers urban logistics, digitalisation, school mobility and transport decarbonisation.

When the government outlined the programme earlier in 2026, it earmarked up to €1.5 million specifically for rail freight measures. The current call therefore draws on only an initial portion of the rail-specific funding potentially available.

How has the industry responded?

The Portuguese Association of Railway Companies (APEF) welcomed the new mechanism. Executive Director Miguel Rebelo de Sousa described it as an "important stimulus" for rail freight and said the association hoped similar support would be "reinforced and consolidated" in future years, giving operators and customers greater predictability.

Rebelo de Sousa's emphasis on multi-year predictability points to one of the open questions: whether the €300,000 pilot becomes an annual line item or remains a one-off disbursement tied to the 2026 fund.

How does this fit the wider agenda?

The operational incentive lands alongside a separately announced €270 million investment programme to raise capacity on the Lisbon–Madrid freight axis through the Alentejo corridor. Read together, the two moves point to Lisbon coupling physical capacity upgrades with per-tonne operational payments to operators and shippers willing to shift more cargo on to rail.

The Alentejo works target infrastructure bottlenecks, while this scheme targets the demand side, paying for tonne-kilometres moved rather than for assets built.

What should applicants watch?

Whether the €300,000 envelope absorbs quickly or stretches into the autumn depends on operator and shipper willingness to file claims against a 2024–2025 baseline that is, for many applicants, depressed. The government's €1.5 million ceiling for rail-specific measures leaves headroom for a second call before year-end if tonnage growth justifies it.