Back in the year 2020, when the epidemic was just beginning to spread, there were a number of travel problems that occurred throughout Portugal and Spain. There is little doubt that the well-known overnight train-hotel service that carried passengers between Lisbon and Madrid is one of the things that is significantly missed.
The Spanish train operator RENFE made the announcement during the previous year that it wished to revive the well-known train service that connects the two capitals of Europe, but with a few modifications. It is now going to be a high-speed rail, and this week construction has begun on the huge project.
Express Train Service from Lisbon to Madrid
RENFE has made the announcement that it will start the project by establishing a high-speed rail link between Madrid and Extremadura. The train will make a stop in Toledo and Talavera, and its completion is anticipated to take place over the next few years.
A tweet from Júlia Boada, a member of the Spanish Parliament, said that it is of utmost importance to retrieve the night train that links Lisbon and Madrid in order to enhance the mobility of public transportation between the nations that are located on the Iberian Peninsula.
In the meanwhile, the construction work has already begun on the Portuguese side, reducing the amount of time it takes to go from Lisbon to Badajoz in Spain to less than two hours. Previously, the journey would take three and a half hours by train.
Located between Elvas and Evora, the route that spans over 62 miles is the last segment of the high-speed rail network. It is anticipated that the network will be finished by the end of this year and will be operational after testing is over in the beginning of 2025.
Based on the Spanish news agency El Español, it has been said that the aim is to establish a connection between the high-speed rail line from Badajoz to Madrid. This will result in a reduction of the train travel from Lisbon to Madrid to around six hours initially, and subsequently to approximately three hours in the future.
It is important to invest in Portugal’s tourism infrastructure.
One of the numerous expenditures that the Portuguese government is making in renovating the tourist infrastructure to make it more suitable for the demands of passengers is the construction of a train line that connects Lisbon and Madrid.
The construction of yet another high-speed rail route between Lisbon and Porto is now underway. The journey time between the two well-known tourist locations will be reduced by about one hour and fifteen minutes as a result of the construction of this new train route.
In addition to the brand-new train route, the region around Lisbon will also be receiving a brand-new airport. The new airport will be situated close to Alcochete, about 25 miles distant from the city that serves as the capital.
The investment will, after years of discussion, result in the creation of a brand new airport that is state of the art and has increased capacity for passengers. This airport will eventually take the place of the elderly Humberto Delgado Airport, which first opened its doors in Lisbon in October of 1942.
In its current configuration, the Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon is currently operating at full capacity, and there is no room for further growth.
In conclusion, the government has also given its approval to the construction of a third bridge that will span the Tagus River. This bridge will also make it simpler for visitors to reach the city center of Lisbon from the recently constructed airport.
Knowledge That Is Necessary for Tourism
A project that was regarded to be ambitious before to the pandemic is now going back on track because to the fifteen million euro investment that RENFE has made in developing the rail service.
On the other hand, because of problems with interconnection between the train infrastructures of the two nations, the project will go a little bit more slowly than what visitors would truly desire.
When it comes to electrical voltages and signaling systems, there are a lot of differences that need to be handled first, and according to the news, it will take until the next year to settle all of these differences.
The acceptance and support of the proposal by the leaders of the governments of Spain and Portugal, on the other hand, was the beginning of the project, and the beginning of the construction and the settlement of the issues is driving it forward toward completion.
In the near future, tourists who are traveling to one of the two sister nations on the Iberian Peninsula will have the opportunity to take advantage of easily accessible rail connections with the other country, which will also help to the environmental objectives of both countries.