Staff Reporter
IF a traveller wants to avoid taking a flight between the Spanish and Portuguese capitals, there is currently an option to take the train. The only problem? The rail link between Madrid and Lisbon takes nine hours, and requires two changes.
Good news, then, that the Portuguese Cabinet has just approved a plan to create a high-speed AVE line between the two cities, which will bring that journey time down to just three hours and will be direct.
The route will pass through the Spanish region of Extremadura, and is aimed at reducing pollution and increasing energy efficiency, according to a report in Spanish daily El Español.
The plan is in line with the Spanish government’s recent efforts to encourage travellers to take the high-speed rail link between Madrid and Barcelona, rather than relying on plane flights, in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
There will, however, be something of a wait until the service is available. The plan envisages a journey time of six hours between the two capitals by 2027, but the entire project won’t be finished until 2034.
The reason for the long construction time is the need to construct a new bridge over the River Tajo, a project that is expected to take as long as nine years and has yet to be planned.
