The Portuguese High-Speed Project comprises five routes:
- The Lisbon - Madrid, Lisbon - Porto and Porto - Vigo axes have been defined as priority axes and a definite schedule for their construction has already been established.
- The axes linking Aveiro - Salamanca and Évora - Faro/Huelva are still being studied.
Porto - Vigo Axis
> Travel time: 1 hour (direct journey)
> Total length: 125 km
> Length in Portugal: 100 km
> 1st stage – Braga - Valença stretch
> 2nd stage – Porto - Sá Carneiro Airport - Braga stretch
> Investment: 845 million euros (1st phase)
> Traffic: Passengers and goods
> Start of operations: 2013 (1st phase)
Lisbon - Porto Axis
> Travel time: 1 hour 15 minutes (direct journey)
> Length: 292 km
> Investment: 4.5 billion euros
> Traffic: Passengers
> Start of operations: 2015
Lisbon - Madrid Axis
> Travel time: 2 hours 45 minutes (direct journey)
> Total length: 640 km
> Length in Portugal: 207 km
> Investment: 2.4 billion euros
> Traffic: Passengers and goods
> Start of operations: 2013
In the final stretch between Évora and Caia, there will be a common platform with the conventional goods line linking the port of Sines to Madrid.
The axis includes the:
Third Tagus Crossing (TTC) in Lisbon between Chelas and Barreiro:
> For high-speed, conventional rail and road traffic
> Ensures the conclusion of the ring railway (passengers and goods) in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area
> 13 km in length, of which 7.2 km is over the river
> Main span: 540m
> Height of the towers: 198m
Currently, around 600 trains circulate every day on the Northern Line and there is a great deal of congestion in many sections.
The high-speed rail link between Lisbon and Porto will free track capacity on this line, which has already virtually reached its limit.
The segregation of traffic and the transfer of long distance express services to the HS line will thus enable a significant growth in suburban and cargo services.