Plans for a new high-speed train line connecting Madrid and Lisbon should be completed by 2034 after the project received backing from the European Commission and the governments of Spain and Portugal.
The commission has adopted the “key milestones and deadlines” needed to complete the project between the Spanish and Portuguese capitals. These include being able to travel by train between the two cities in around five hours by 2030 with journey times reduced to three hours by 2034.
Currently, there is no direct train service between Madrid and Lisbon after Renfe suspended its Trenhotel Lusitania night train in March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Portugal and Spain have taken a decisive step to bring the Iberian capitals even closer together, with the definition of a set of concrete actions that will make it possible to establish rail links between Lisbon and Madrid," added Portugal's Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing in a statement.
Work has already started on parts of the line including the 100-kilometre Évora-Elvas section in Portugal, close to the Spanish border, which is described as a “crucial missing infrastructure link in the Iberian peninsula”. The EU is providing €235 million in funding for this part of the high-speed line, which is due to be completed in the next few months.
The Atlantic Corridor rail scheme forms part of the wider trans-European transport network (TEN-T) initiative aimed at improving public transport links across the continent.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism, said: "Covering slightly more than 600 kilometres from Lisbon to Madrid in just three hours is a remarkable example of the high-speed rail connections we aim to achieve across Europe. Such links make train travel a genuinely attractive and sustainable alternative for city-to-city journeys."
François Bausch, European co-ordinator for the Atlantic Corridor, added that there were currently nearly 40 daily flights operating between Lisbon and Madrid.
“This project isn’t just about saving time; it’s about cutting emissions and making sustainable mobility a reality in Europe,” said Bausch. “This new high-speed rail line between Madrid and Lisbon is a perfect example of good cross-border collaboration and underlines the European Commission’s ambition to strengthen connectivity across Europe."
The commission is also due to present its plan for a European high-speed rail network across the EU in the next few weeks.