Pare, Escute, Olhe (2009)

The announcement to build a dam threatens the centuries-old railway line from Tua

22/10/2009

Overview

December 1991. Half of the century-old Tua railway, that circulates between Bragança e Mirandela, is shut down by a political decision. Fifteen years later, the train's whistle echoes in the memory of the people from Trás-os-Montes. This decision cut the development of the country and increased disparities between the coastal and inland of Portugal, making it the most centralist country in Western Europe. Now, the trains that still wind through the idyllic valley of Tua is threatened by a dam, which would flood what is considered one of the most beautiful railway lines of Europe. The people stood, isolated, in the only district in the country without a single motorway mile.