Portugal is nearing completion of the Southern International Corridor, which will improve combined transport from the Portuguese ports of Sines, Setubal, and Lisbon to the Spanish border at Caia and onwards to Europe. Construction of the new Evora – Elvas line began in March 2018 and is expected to open in 2025, although it is around four years behind schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 80 km line, which is part of the trans-European transport network TEN-T, is being developed by the Portuguese infrastructure operator Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP). The line covers a total of around 170 km and includes several existing lines. The construction costs of the project are currently estimated at €530 million, which will be partly financed by the European Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding programme. Although the line is designed for two tracks, initially only a single track with Iberian gauge was built on convertible sleepers, mainly for rail freight transport. The infrastructure is prepared for a later conversion to the European standard gauge and is also suitable for passenger rail transport.
