INFRAESTRUTURAS DE PORTUGAL SA

Their core work

Infraestruturas de Portugal is the national infrastructure manager for Portugal's road and railway networks. In H2020 projects, they contribute real-world operational data, testing environments, and domain expertise on maintaining and modernizing large-scale transport infrastructure. Their involvement spans track and switch systems, structural health monitoring, 5G railway communications, and predictive maintenance — always from the perspective of an infrastructure operator managing thousands of kilometers of assets. They serve as the essential end-user partner that grounds research in actual operational needs.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), Infraestruturas de Portugal focused on foundational infrastructure challenges: predictive maintenance, resilience against extreme events, structural health monitoring, and GIS-based decision support systems. From 2019 onward, the emphasis shifted toward digital transformation and next-generation rail technologies — 5G communications (FRMCS, GSM-R replacement), drone-based inspection with AI, connected automated mobility, and hydrogen fuel cells. The trajectory is clear: from maintaining what exists to digitizing and decarbonizing the railway system.

Infraestruturas de Portugal is moving from traditional infrastructure maintenance toward AI-driven asset management, 5G-enabled rail communications, and green propulsion — positioning itself as a testing ground for the digital and sustainable railway of the future.

How they like to work

Infraestruturas de Portugal operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with its role as a national infrastructure operator that provides real-world use cases and validation environments rather than leading research design. With 312 unique partners across 30 countries and 16 projects, they are a highly connected hub in European transport research. Their consistent participation in Shift2Rail programme sequels (IN2TRACK 1→2→3, IN2SMART 1→2) shows they build long-term relationships with research consortia rather than joining one-off projects.

With 312 unique consortium partners across 30 countries, Infraestruturas de Portugal has one of the broadest networks among European infrastructure managers. Their partnerships span the full Shift2Rail ecosystem plus major cross-border 5G and resilience initiatives.

What sets them apart

As Portugal's national road and rail infrastructure manager, they offer something most research partners cannot: access to a full-scale, operational transport network for testing and validation. Their participation in both the Shift2Rail track research series and 5G corridor trials means they bridge the gap between laboratory research and real deployment conditions. For any consortium needing a Southern European infrastructure operator with experience across maintenance, digitalization, and sustainability, they are an established and well-connected choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SAFEWAY
  Their largest funded project (EUR 397,750), combining GIS, predictive maintenance, and resilience into an integrated infrastructure management system for extreme events.
• 5GRAIL
  Positions them at the forefront of future railway mobile communications (FRMCS), working on the technology that will replace GSM-R across European railways.
• FCH2RAIL
  Marks their entry into clean energy for rail with hydrogen fuel cell hybrid powerpack prototypes — a strategic diversification from pure infrastructure management.