The management of land transport infrastructures

Abstract

The management of rail and road infrastructures has been entrusted from 2015 onwards to Infraestruturas de Portugal, S.A., by means of two different instruments; a delegation of powers and a concession contract. The management model for both these land transport infrastructures by a State-owned company, is based on two special public domain legal systems, defined from functional criteria; one for the railroad and one for the highway. The company also has its own property, ruled according to the legal act that set it up. As a result of the evolution of each mode of transport, with the retraction of the rail network and the expansion of the road network in the last decades, the management and profitability of public goods presents different realities, demands and challenges that the legislator intends to make compatible through joint management. In this article we identify some similarities and differences that the current legal systems present, setting them in the respective underlying realities.