Above. The route and journey times from the Porto study

The Associação Vale d’Ouro, and I quote them. is “a non-profitable organization based on Douro region, participated in the public consultation for the Portuguese National Rail Plan submitting a study towards for a new high-speed line between Porto – Vila Real - Bragança - Zamora demystifying a series of technical issues about the infeasibility of the corridor, pointing to an economic importance with impact throughout the country and without affecting the existing railway network, namely the Douro Railway Line”.

They sent me their complete study and it’s obvious they have done extensive work and technical studies to show the government this can be done and should be. Their studies show that Porto to Paris could be achieved in around eight or nine hours, or to put it another way, a good night’s sleep. Lisbon to Madrid, via Porto could be achieved in just over four hours, that’s a dramatic time saving compared with the recently promoted nine hours, even if you had to go via Porto.

People may reasonably argue that direct Lisbon Madrid would be more practical, but the infrastructure simply isn’t there, and information about the link between the Spanish border and Lisbon seems not to exist.

Porto is nearer to Madrid than Lisbon

It’s worth pointing out that Madrid is not directly opposite Lisbon to the East. It is in fact further North, and it would seem the distance between Lisbon and Madrid, or Porto and Madrid are greatly in favour of Porto - Madrid. As the crow flies (or as TAP fly’s) Lisbon to Madrid are 502.841 km, whereas Porto to Madrid is 421.030 km, substantially less distance.

Porto is much nearer to Paris, no wonder operators such as Midnight Trains are taking such an interest in Porto. Who wouldn’t be attracted to the idea of boarding a night sleeper in Paris in the evening and waking up in Porto in the morning. It would be so quick you might not have enough time for breakfast.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds a much more attractive idea than all the delays and crowding at the airport, not to mention the need to be two hours early, then to sit on a crowded plane with little or no catering. If you add up the times, it’s probably not that much longer to take the train, and its 100% more comfortable and relaxed.

Taking the initiative

The Associação Vale d’Ouro have to be congratulated for taking matters into their own hands. They realised the value of this rail connection to their region, but didn’t wait for the government to come up with a project (that might have taken a long time). They commissioned a group of technicians of recognised reputation and technical ability who worked ‘Pro bono’ to develop this study to be a constructive proposal to launch the discussion, on the possibility of building a high-speed railway line linking Francisco Sá Carneiro airport to the Spanish high-speed network that distance 35 km from the border.

Many organisations in the Algarve have been campaigning for a link between Seville and Faro, but if they want the government to take them seriously, this has to be the way to do it. I have my doubts that this will ever happen, though I also doubt the feasibility of such a high-speed rail link.

Is the government listening?

Luis Almeida told me this week, “We had a meeting with Pedro Nuno Santos, the Minister for Infrastructure, and he told us that this connection will be on next National Railway Plan. Last Friday one of his advisors confirmed that the new line was being analysed”. That’s not a yes, but it’s really encouraging. According to Jornal de Notícias “The coordinator of the National Railway Plan, Frederico Francisco, said that the proposal "is being taken seriously" and "analysed". "It does not seem to me that it is a direct alternative to the connection through Évora and Badajoz, but it naturally has to be considered as an alternative to the connection through Aveiro and Salamanca", studying both, he said.

No wonder Porto and the North are seen as an industrial ‘power house’. They get things done. (This newspaper is printed in Porto), they have the initiative and the facilities. Porto is competitive and progressive; the way they are handling the high-speed rail link they want is an example others might want to follow. They make a rather splendid fortified wine as well!

Author

Resident in Portugal for 50 years, publishing and writing about Portugal since 1977. Privileged to have seen, firsthand, Portugal progress from a dictatorship (1974) into a stable democracy. 

Paul Luckman