<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The European Commission adopted a plan on Thursday to complete the high-speed rail connection between Madrid and Lisbon, aiming to transform the transport infrastructure between the two capitals. The plan sets the timelines and targets for reducing travel time between the two cities to five hours by 2030, with the ultimate goal of achieving a direct three-hour connection by 2034.</strong></h4> The project will be developed in two main phases. The first, to be completed by 2030, will allow travelers to journey between Madrid and Lisbon in approximately five hours. The second phase, with a deadline of 2034, will complete the full connection, reducing travel time to just three hours. The European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, emphasized that “traveling just over 600 kilometers between Lisbon and Madrid in three hours is a clear example of how we want to connect European cities using high-speed trains,” underscoring the importance of this project for strengthening sustainable mobility in the region. The Lisbon-Madrid connection is part of a larger effort by the European Commission to double high-speed rail traffic in Europe by 2030, thereby reducing CO2 emissions from the transport sector and promoting greener and more efficient mobility. Currently, around 40 daily flights connect Lisbon and Madrid. According to François Bausch, European Coordinator of the Atlantic Corridor, “with this new high-speed rail line, the journey can be made in just three hours. This project will not only save time but also reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to sustainable mobility in the region.” The European Commission emphasized that this initiative aims not only to improve existing rail infrastructure but also to foster cross-border projects under the revised Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation. In the future, this project is expected to be extended to connect with France's high-speed rail network, further strengthening the cohesion of the European rail transport system. To make this possible, it will be necessary to adopt the European standard gauge of 1,435 mm, ensuring full compatibility between the infrastructure of the various countries involved. Project oversight will be the responsibility of a binational working group between Spain and Portugal, which will coordinate progress and meet regularly to ensure that the works are carried out according to schedule. In addition, a European coordinator for the Atlantic Corridor will be responsible for monitoring overall progress and convening high-level meetings should any potential delays be identified. Meanwhile, the new high-speed rail line between Évora and Elvas in Portugal has already received an investment of €235 million through the Connecting Europe Facility. In Spain, various European funding sources, such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the EU Recovery Fund (ERFF), have contributed almost €750 million since 2014 to improve the rail infrastructure connecting Extremadura with Madrid.
