Lisbon and Madrid are two of Europe’s most vibrant capitals, yet getting between the two is tricky due the lack of direct trains – this however, is about to change.
Spanish and Portuguese authorities want to connect Madrid and Lisbon via a high-speed train by 2030. This would mean a six-hour direct service between the two cities.
The railway will link Porto to Lisbon, Lisbon to Madrid and Porto to Vigo. However, the two countries are at odds over which part of the track is priority.
On Wednesday, the Spanish government spoke about its commitment to connecting Madrid and Lisbon, while the Portuguese government reaffirmed that it is prioritising the Porto-Vigo line, without setting any dates.
“The Spanish government’s commitment to the AVE [high-speed railway] Madrid-Lisbon is 2030. I insist, it’s the Spanish government’s commitment and it’s the horizon we’re working towards,’ said Spanish president Pedro Sánchez at the final press conference of the Iberian summit held in Faro.
Sánchez added that with regard to the Lisbon-Porto-Vigo high-speed link, Spain shares the Portuguese Government’s commitment of 2032.
However, the Prime Minister of Portugal, Luís Montenegro, at the same press conference, said that the national executive’s priority “is the Lisbon-Porto-Vigo-Madrid link”.
“It’s the priority on the Portuguese side. We’ve already awarded the first section of this link and we even want to bring forward the timetable as far as possible,” said Montenegro.
This new project is in line with the Spanish government’s recent efforts to reduce dependence on plane flights and promote train travel to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
High-Speed trains are a competitive rail alternative to the daily flights. There are around 40 flights between Lisbon and Madrid and around 20 between Porto and Lisbon.
The Portuguese Prime Minister added in his speech that “the second priority is the Lisbon-Madrid link via Évora-Badajoz” and, in this case, “there is a first section that is already on the ground”.
“The two governments are working to try to combine the work schedules for one link and the other so that they can be carried out in the shortest possible time,” added Montenegro.
However, on Thursday 24, the president of Spain’s autonomous community of Galicia responded to the speeches saying the Porto-Vigo high-speed railway in 2032 is unrealistic.
According to Alfonso Rueda, the date is not feasible due to the state of the process on the Spanish side.
President Rueda explained how the two Government’s “didn’t even bother to check the real deadlines”.
The regional government’s president also criticised Sánchez for saying that Spain is prioritising the link between Lisbon and Madrid before the connection with Galicia, thanking Luís Montenegro today for his commitment to prioritising the Porto-Vigo link.
