One hour and fifteen minutes. That’s the time it will take to travel the 300km stretch between Lisbon and Porto on the new high-speed train unveiled on September 28 by Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Construction of the line is expected to begin in 2024 and will be implemented in phases, with partial commissioning expected in 2030. Eventually, the line is expected to extend to Vigo in northwestern Spain. This project will enable you to place the countryat the forefront of the fight against climate change [et] change the mobility paradigm– said Antonio Costa.
Currently, the journey between Portugal’s two main cities takes at least 2 hours with 50 inclined trains (Alfa Pendular), which are capable of going around curves at higher speeds than normal trains. Cities served include Coimbra and Aveiro. A one-way ticket is offered for 31.90 euros in 2nd class and 44.60 euros in 1st class, according to national company CP’s website. The line is expected to carry around 16 million passengers in 2031, up from the current six million.
Lisbon-Madrid in 4 to 5 hours in 2024
By then, Portugal will enter the high-speed era with the opening of the Madrid-Lisbon line expected in 2024. It will significantly reduce travel time between the two capitals. Today, it takes nine hours to complete this 600 km journey on three different trains. With the new line, it will only take four to five hours and no change.
This will facilitate rail communication between France, Spain and Portugal in the coming years. Until March 2020, it was possible to leave Paris in the afternoon to arrive in Lisbon the next morning, with one change. In Hendaye (France-Spanish border), the Trenhotel Sud Expresso night train made it possible to reach the Portuguese capital in 12 hours without changing. Closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been removed for good, as has the Trenhotel Lusitania, which linked Madrid to Lisbon at night.
Today, connecting France to Portugal remains possible at the cost of many connections and the frequency of disruptive crossings… Rail connections between France and Spain, as well as between Spain and Portugal, are almost non-existent, due in particular to the war between the railway operators and the different gauge of the different rails between the three countries. A problem that will be solved with the new high-speed lines that will adopt a standard European gauge.
Source: Le Figaro
