We call it a neighboring country but the truth is that, despite the geographical proximity, in terms of communications Spain and Portugal are not so close, and after the pandemic that distance became even greater with the suppression of the night train service that linked the Portuguese country with ours. However, a recent proposal could put it back on track.
The initiative to resume night train service between the two countries comes from Portugal’s Free Party and was approved a few weeks ago, according to The Portugal News.
According to the same media, the Portuguese government is in negotiations with the Spanish government to reactivate, during the first half of 2025, “the Lusitânia and Sud-Expresso night train services, through the railway companies CP – Comboios de Portugal, EPE and Renfe”. A measure that is contemplated within the Portuguese National Railway Plan as part of the Iberian railway strategy.
From night train to Madrid-Lisbon high-speed train
The services to be recovered with the proposal are two. The Lusitânia Comboio Hotel, a train-hotel that inaugurated the Lisbon-Madrid line in 1995. It was suspended due to the health emergency caused by the coronavirus and was never operated again. And the Sud-Expresso, which connected Lisbon with Hendaye and the rest of Europe.
In the future – about 10 years away – it is expected that an AVE will be launched connecting Madrid and Lisbon in just 3 hours. A distance that takes more than 9 hours to cover and for which today there is no direct line, to the point of being able to affirm, according to a report by Tereixa Constenla in El País, that both cities are worse connected now than in 1881.