At the start of the pandemic in 2020, there were a number of travel disruptions across Portugal and Spain. One of the most missed has to be the popular night train-hotel service that transported travelers between Lisbon and Madrid.
Last year, the Spanish train company RENFE announced that it wanted to bring back the popular train service between the two European capitals, with a twist. It will now be a high-speed train and work on the ambitious project started this week.
Train connection Lisbon to Madrid
RENFE has announced that it will start the project with a high-speed train connection between Madrid and Extremadura, with a stop in Toledo and Talavera planned for completion in the coming years.
“Restoring the night train that connects Lisbon to Madrid is crucial to facilitate public transport mobility between the countries of the Iberian Peninsula,” Spanish MP Júlia Boada tweeted.
Meanwhile, work on the Portuguese side is already underway, reducing the time for the journey from Lisbon to Badajoz in Spain to less than two hours, compared to what used to be a three-and-a-half hour train ride.
The 100-plus kilometer route between Elvas and Evora is the final stretch of the high-speed rail network, which is expected to be completed later this year and operational once testing is completed in early 2025.
According to Spanish news agency El Español, the plan is to then connect the high-speed line from Badajoz to Madrid, which will initially reduce the train ride from Lisbon to Madrid to six hours and a few years later to around three hours.
Investing in Portugal’s tourist infrastructure
The Lisbon-Madrid railway is just one of many investments the Portuguese government is making in modernizing its tourism infrastructure to better meet the needs of travelers.
A new high-speed line is being built between Lisbon and Porto. This new railway line will halve the travel time between the two popular tourist destinations to approximately an hour and fifteen minutes.
In addition to the new railway line, the Lisbon region will also have a brand new airport. The new airport will be located near Alcochete, about 40 kilometers from the capital.
After years of discussion, the investment will create a new, state-of-the-art airport with additional capacity for visitors, eventually replacing the aging Humberto Delgado Airport, which opened in Lisbon in October 1942.
The current Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon has already reached its capacity and there is no additional room for expansion.
Finally, the government has also approved a new third bridge over the Tagus River, which will also provide tourists with easy access to Lisbon city center from the brand new airport.
What travelers need to know
The €15 million investment in the train service by RENFE finally sees what was considered an ambitious project before the pandemic back on track.
However, due to interconnectivity issues between the rail infrastructure between the two countries, the project will be a little slower than tourists would actually like.
According to news reports, it will take until next year to resolve many discrepancies in electrical voltages and signaling systems, which must first be addressed.
However, the approval and approval of the project by the heads of government of Spain and Portugal was a start to the project and the start of construction and the resolution of the problems ensures that the project moves forward.
Soon, travelers visiting one of the two sister countries on the Iberian Peninsula will be able to enjoy easy train connections to the other country, also contributing to both countries’ environmental goals.
