As for freight, there were decreases in all modes of transport.

According to INE's transport activity statistics, from January to March, 69.3 million passengers travelled by metro, representing a 2.2% annual decrease, following the 3.5% reduction recorded in the previous quarter.

In the same period, rail transport registered 57.6 million passengers, reflecting a growth of 0.8% (+6.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025).

Meanwhile, domestic airports handled 14.5 million passengers during the period, corresponding to an annual growth of 3.9% (+4.7% in the previous quarter), while waterway transport totalled 5.1 million passengers, a reduction of 3.1% compared to the same quarter of 2025 (-3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025).

Metro

The Lisbon Metro transported 41.5 million passengers, 4.0% less than in the same period of 2025 (-5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025), with the Porto Metro handling 22.8 million passengers, registering a year-on-year growth of 0.8% (+0.9%).

On the South Tagus Metro, 4.9 million passengers were transported, a decrease of 0.6% (-6.3% in the previous quarter).

Until March, the utilisation rate of all metro systems stood at 22.4%, unchanged from the same period in 2025 and down 0.8 percentage points (p.p.) from the previous quarter.

The highest utilisation rate was recorded on the Porto Metro (23.5%), followed by the Lisbon Metro (22.5%) and Metro Sul do Tejo (14.0%).

Railway

Regarding rail transport, suburban traffic accounted for 83.3% of total passengers, carrying 48.0 million people (-0.3%; -0.03% in the previous quarter).

Intercity traffic totalled 9.6 million passengers, registering annual growth of 6.9% (+58.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025), while international traffic maintained the downward trend observed in recent quarters, totalling 14,200 passengers, 15.8% less than in the same period last year (-15.6%).

Air transport

Regarding air transport, Lisbon airport accounted for 54.2% of the total passengers handled, totalling 7.9 million, 3.1% more than in the same period of 2025 (+3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025).

Porto airport handled 3.5 million passengers, a year-on-year growth of 8.3% (+8.1% in the previous quarter), and Faro airport accounted for 1.3 million, an increase of 2.4%.

In turn, Madeira Airport handled 1.2 million passengers (+3.6% compared to the same period last year), while Ponta Delgada Airport handled 422,000 passengers, 6.2% less than in the first quarter of 2025.

From January to March, international air traffic handled 12.0 million passengers, representing an annual growth of 4.7% and accounting for 82.8% of total passenger traffic.

River transport

Regarding transport by waterways, 4.9 million passengers were transported on the Tagus River, 3.0% less than in the same period of 2025 (-4.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025).

Freight transport

In freight transport, there were declines in all modes of transport: Road transport registered the sharpest reduction (-12.7%; -4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025), followed by maritime transport (-6.5%; -18.0% in the previous quarter), rail (-2.1%; +4.3%) and air (-0.3%; -6.2%).

Pipeline transport

In turn, pipeline transport increased by 5.0% compared to the same period last year (+2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025), while pipeline gas transport saw more pronounced increases in both inbound (+11.0%; +0.3% in the previous quarter) and outbound (+11.7%; +0.4%).