The Portuguese government has laid out a clear transportation roadmap. A high‑speed rail connection is projected for 2030, linking Galicia via Vigo and marking the first step toward a broader Portuguese rail integration with the Spanish network. In Porto, senior officials presented the plan for the Lisbon–Oporto–Río Miño corridor, outlining the execution timeline and the travel durations that would connect Vigo with Lisbon through direct routes. The Vigo–Porto journey is expected to drop to about two hours and five minutes, a substantial reduction from current times. Achieving this hinges on coordination with Spain, including decisions about the southern underground exit toward O Porriño, a route still in the planning phase.
Regarding the project that is pivotal for tying the Portuguese line to the Atlantic Axis, the Portuguese government acknowledged delays in meeting its milestones, even as it recognizes that the success of the Spain–Portugal high‑speed rail interaction depends on joint planning with Spain. In the latest presentation, the government avoided asserting a firm completion date for the international connection, noting that articulation with Spain remains pending.
The southern exit is essential for a seamless high‑speed connection. The Atlantic Axis currently reaches the Urzáiz station, and the existing route would require trains to return to Redondela for services to Portugal. One proposed alternative is a tunnel from Urzáiz toward O Porriño, extending the Atlantic Axis toward the border. This option could cost around 600 million euros, and its precise alignment has yet to be determined.
Portugal’s emphasis on this rail link is evident in the calendar presented by Prime Minister António Costa, Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos, and the leadership of the public works company. “We are delivering a revolution,” stated Nuno Santos, stressing that Portugal will not halt railway investments again, as it has done recently, and that broad social support exists for the project, backed by European Union funding.
strategic columns
Portugal is pursuing a two‑column strategy. The first centers on Galicia rather than Madrid as the gateway to the Iberian high‑speed network, based on studies suggesting a substantive cross‑border connection with growing social, economic, and cultural ties on both sides of the border.
Secondly, the plan strengthens Porto’s Sá Carneiro airport as a key hub in the northwest peninsula, leveraging the AVE corridor and the benefits of high‑speed rail. The infrastructure minister described Sá Carneiro as the reference airport for the region, contributing to a broader footprint with faster intercity connections.
For the Porto–Vigo segment, the project is split into two phases. The initial phase plans a 2025 tender and the start of the double Iberian track between Porto and Sá Carneiro and Braga–Valença in 2026, with a target completion around 2030, contingent on ongoing coordination with the Spanish government to avoid routing that stops at the Galician border.
During this period, travel time from Vigo to Porto is expected to fall to about one hour, down from more than two hours today. The second phase includes modernization between Sá Carneiro and Braga, with a date beyond 2030 and the understanding that the upgraded line would still offer a 50‑minute journey. If the Vigo route ends at Sá Carneiro airport, the trip could reach 48 minutes. In the scenario where the journey ends in A Coruña, travel time would be around 2 hours and 23 minutes. The southern exit from Olívica remains a critical factor; without it, the Vigo–airport connection could stretch to about 1 hour and 25 minutes.
south aisle
For the Porto–Lisbon leg, the plan unfolds in three stages. The first would run from 2015 to 2028, the second from 2028 to 2030, approaching Carregado near Lisbon. These works are projected to cut the Vigo–Lisbon trip to two hours and five minutes by 2030. The Porto–Carregado segment will see a further four‑minute reduction, enabling quicker travel between Vigo and the Portuguese capital.
It is anticipated that around 60 high‑speed trains will operate daily on the new Lisbon–Porto line, with 17 direct services, 9 with stops, and 34 high‑speed hybrids. Financing details place this plan within the broader 11,000‑million euro rail investment component of a 43,000‑million euro transport package allocated for 2030.