Great news. From September, the Passe Ferroviário Verde — the €20 “Green Rail Pass” — is expected to become valid on urban and suburban train lines in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas, meaning both the cities themselves and their suburbs. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced the plan. There is still no exact start date or published decree.

What does this change? Right now, suburban trains in these regions are covered by the Navegante (Lisbon) and Andante (Porto) passes, which work across all public transport: trains, metro, buses and ferries. The Green Pass currently does not cover train travel within the metropolitan areas: around Lisbon, it is only valid between Carregado and Azambuja, while in the Porto area it covers a few sections away from the city.

From September, people who travel only by train will be able to buy the PFV for €20 instead of Navegante or Andante. Navegante is not going anywhere: if you need to combine a train with the metro or a bus, those passes will still be the relevant option. But if, for example, you only need to get to Cascais and cycle to the station on an e-bike, you could cut your monthly transport costs in half. There is another bonus: the same pass can also take you to much farther destinations whenever you want.

After the expansion, the PFV will be valid across the entire railway network — but only on CP trains. It does not cover Alfa Pendular, first class on Intercidades, or private operator Fertagus, which runs the line across the 25 de Abril Bridge to the south bank. So to get to Setúbal, you can use it only from Barreiro; from Lisbon, you will still have to pay for a ticket.