Madrid-Lisbon high speed rail link will cut travel times to three hours from 2034

The Portuguese government expects to complete its stretch of the Lisbon-Madrid high speed rail link in order for services to begin from 2034.

The project will include the construction of a third River Tagus crossing between Chelas and Barreiro, including accesses to the now announced new airport site at Alcochete, 45 km from Lisbon.

A resolution was approved by the Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro on Tuesday. Once built, the journey time between Lisbon and the border with Spain which currently takes two hours, will be reduced by a half to just one hour within 10 years.

The new government will also adopt the two projects launched by the previous socialist government — the high-speed lines between Porto and Lisbon and Porto and Vigo, and will now carry out the necessary studies to develop a high-speed link to Madrid.

The new line, which includes the line currently being constructed between Évora and Elvas in the South international corridor (Opening in 2025) — will mean pressing ahead with the third River Tagus crossing between Chelas and Barreiro (Probably road and rail ) as well as a link between Barreiro and Évora.

If the third crossing combines both road and rail, the estimated investment will be €2.2Bn but €1.3Bn if the government opts for rail alone.

The government resolution, which has now been approved, will enable public company Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) to outlay a total of €4Bn to develop the projects.

The resolution also anticipates a new management model for the three Tagus crossings, including the construction of the new bridge since the concession granted to the company Lusoponte, which manages the 24 Abril and Vasco da Gama bridges, ends in 2030.