New high speed train connection from FARO to Spain coming despite recession

High-speed train for Faro
31/10/2009

Within days of unveiling his new cabinet, which included a new minister for transport and public works, Prime Minister José Sócrates has now revealed the intention to build two additional high-speed rail links in Portugal, one of which will see Faro linked with the rest of Europe.

Coming at a cost of 2.9 billion euros, the Algarve capital will be linked with major high-speed rail networks in Portugal and Spain, a Government report has revealed.

While the idea in itself is not new, details of the report, published this week in the Diário Económico show that Prime Minister Sócrates will make the building of these high-speed rail links one of his cabinet's priorities, despite the current global economic crisis.

During his inaugural speech after the new Government was sworn in, the prime minister made it clear that he would not dilute plans to invest in excess of 60 billion euros between now and 2020.

Besides the Lisbon airport, new motorways and hospitals, the Government is looking to spend in excess of ten billion euros on the high-speed rail network in Portugal.

The first line, linking Lisbon with Madrid, is expected to be complete by 2013 and will come at a projected cost of €2.15 billion euros. That same year, the line linking Oporto with Vigo in Spain will also be concluded, having cost the Portuguese taxpayer an additional 845 million euros.

Two years later, the Lisbon-Oporto line will be finished and will also be the most important nationally, transporting an expected one million commuters a month and countless tons of merchandise between the nation's two major metropolitan centres.

This particular line is expected to require an investment of 4.5 billion euros.

The two new lines contained in Government proposals, will see Aveiro in central Portugal connected with Salamanca in northern Spain (costing 2.3 billion euros), while the second will see Faro linked to Lisbon via Évora and the rest of Spain via Huelva.

Estimates are that the train travelling from Faro will take under 30 minutes to reach Huelva and will have a maximum speed of 300 kilometres an hour, though it remains unclear where the train will cross the Guadiana River and what infrastructure will be used to do so.

The 200 kilometre trip to Évora will take slightly longer than would be expected, covering the distance in a 'mediocre' 90 minutes.

The building of these two lines was first discussed at international level back in 2003 during the annual Iberian Summit, where they were agreed to in principal.

They were later included in a resolution presented by the Council of Ministers in 2004, with current opposition leader Manuela Ferreira Leite, the Finance Minister at the time.

In the meantime, new Transport and Public Works Minister António Mendonça is a staunch advocate of the potential benefits that could be reaped from major public investments and is already pushing to have these new lines approved.

It is believed the minister will be working to the ensure environmental impact studies are conducted as soon as possible on these two new proposed lines in order to secure European funding for these high speed rail links as soon as possible and have them concluded within the next eight years

 

Source The Portugal news