The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €3 billion in financing for the construction of the €6.1 billion high-speed rail (HSR) link between Porto and Lisbon. The first phase includes the construction of a 143 km section between the Porto-Campanha station and Soure, south-east of Coimbra, and will be implemented through two public-private partnership (PPP) contracts for the Porto – Oia and Oia – Soure sections, each approximately 70 km long and comprising a total of 5 stations. The Portuguese infrastructure operator IP launched the tender for the first section in January 2024. Construction work on the second phase of the project between Soure and Carregado is scheduled to begin in 2027, followed by the final section of the project between Carregado and Lisbon, with work planned after 2030. The HSR route between Porto and Lisbon will cover 336 km and is expected to reduce the journey time between the two cities from the current 2 hours and 50 minutes to less than one hour.
