The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, enacted this Saturday, December 27th, the prohibition of train drivers driving under the influence of alcohol, narcotics or psychotropic substances.
“The President of the Republic promulgated the decree of the Assembly of the Republic that […] establishes the prohibition of train drivers from performing duties under the influence of alcohol, narcotics or psychotropic substances”, read in a note published on the website of the Presidency of the Republic.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also enacted the reinforcement of penalties for train drivers who drive under these effects.
On September 29, parliament debated the Government’s proposed law that increases penalties for train drivers and sets limits on alcohol and drugs, but the opposition accused the executive of legislating “on the obvious” and ignoring the railway’s structural problems.
During the debate, the Secretary of State for Mobility, Cristina Pinto Dias, highlighted that the diploma aims to “certify, unify and integrate” legislation on railway safety.
Among the measures are the setting of a maximum blood alcohol limit of 0.2 grams per liter, “in line with other European railway networks”, the scaling of fines depending on the severity of the infraction and the updating of fees owed to the Mobility and Transport Institute (IMT).
“Very serious offenses will be punished with fines of 100 thousand to 500 thousand euros, reinforcing the supervisory and sanctioning power of the National Railway Safety Authority”, highlighted Cristina Pinto Dias, adding that with these changes “Portugal no longer has the lightest and lowest administrative offense framework in Europe”.
The official also highlighted that the proposal does not change the driving, rest or break times already provided for in national and community legislation.
In the plenary session, several opposition parties criticized the executive for the lack of focus on solving problems on the railway.
On January 31, parliament had already generally approved the ban on train drivers driving under the influence of alcohol, with PSD and CDS accusing the previous executive of doing nothing about railway safety.