Lisbon-Oporto high speed railway line

The High-Speed line between Lisbon and Porto will be the most significant investment planned in the National Investment Programme 2030 (PNI 2030): 4.5 billion Euros. The construction of the new rail link will connect the two cities in about one hour and 15 minutes, substantially reducing the current three hours.

This project will directly benefit these two cities and the cities located between Lisbon and Porto, namely Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro and Gaia. This project will allow, for example, to connect Lisbon to Leiria in 40 minutes and Lisbon to Coimbra in less than an hour, significantly shortening travel times to various destinations in the country.

Furthermore, the aim of this project is also to provide passenger transport services on this railway line – and not only freight – in competition with the Portuguese Railways (CP), thus increasing competitiveness in the provision of this type of service. In this sense, in addition to the clear territorial cohesion that will result from the creation of this high-speed railway line, if this project is carried out, the increase in competitiveness will hopefully improve the quality of the service provided to its users.

It is also worth mentioning that this considerable shortening of connections between cities may eventually – and depending on the values practised for passenger transport – reduce renting pressure in the largest Portuguese cities, which currently face high renting values, thus providing citizens with an alternative housing more distant from the largest city centres, and therefore more economical.

This will create one more means of collective transport that may tackle the permanent and exponential rise in fuel prices, which – given the current economic and geopolitical situation – is uncertain when it will return to normal.

One should also consider and welcome the contribution to environmental sustainability that will come from the implementation of this project, namely regarding the much-needed decarbonisation of the transport sector. In a country where transport often has to be carried out by road – given the lack of viable or effective alternatives – the implementation of this high-speed railway line may combat this dependence and also promote a sustainable alternative to the pollution caused by road transport.

The construction of this new railway line will be phased. The first will take place between 2024 and 2028, connecting Soure to Porto in around 2 hours; the second will take place between 2026 and 2030, with Porto and Carregado being 1h19 away. Finally, it is expected that the third phase will only end after 2030, allowing train travel between Lisbon and Porto in 1h15.