The European Commission (EC) has adopted an implementing decision with binding milestones and deadlines for the completion of the high-speed rail (HSR) line between Madrid and Lisbon. The aim is to reduce travel time to around five hours by 2030 and to around three hours by 2034, as well as to fully integrate Portugal and Spain into the European HSR network. The project is part of the accelerated implementation of cross-border projects in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). In Portugal, the EU funds already committed amount to EUR 235 million from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme for the new Évora – Elvas line. In Spain, funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for the Extremadura – Madrid section has amounted to around EUR 750 million since 2014. In addition, the EC has announced that it will present a plan for a European HSR network at the beginning of November 2025.
